Two individuals have filed lawsuits against the Walt Disney Company, alleging that the company relocated their positions from California to Florida, only to later cancel the project and relocate them back.
This unexpected turn of events allegedly had a detrimental impact on their financial and emotional well-being.
Lawsuit Claims Disney Misled Employees on Florida Relocation
In 2021, the former CEO of Disney, Bob Chapek, made an announcement regarding the relocation of 2,000 positions from California to Florida.
However, in May 2023, after CEO Bob Iger returned, the company canceled the $1 billion Lake Nona office complex amid a legal and political battle with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that has since been settled.
The lawsuit, which is currently awaiting processing by the Superior Court of Los Angeles, seeks an unspecified amount in damages, CNN reported.
Maria De La Cruz and George Fong are employees of Disney's product design division. According to the complaint filed by Lohr Ripamonti LLP on Tuesday (June 18), De La Cruz holds the position of vice president of product design, while Fong serves as a creative director.
The complaint claims that Disney deceived and hid its actual intentions for the Lake Nona project, causing financial and other harm to around 250 employees who had relocated from California to Florida.
Disney's Orlando Relocation Scrapped Amid Conflict with DeSantis
The complaint alleged that Disney had enthusiastically informed the employees about the advantages of the relocation, such as the affordable housing market in Orlando and the convenience of the new, centralized office.
However, De La Cruz and Fong set up their operations in a Kissimmee office upon their arrival in Orlando, until Disney's plans were officially scrapped in May 2023.
The cancellation occurred during the peak of the conflict between Disney and DeSantis.
The governor took steps to assume control of a local governing board that was heavily influenced by Disney, following critical remarks made by then-CEO Bob Chapek about Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act, which is commonly referred to as the "Don't Say Gay" law.
The two-year conflict came to a close in March when Disney and DeSantis resolved their legal disputes and expressed their commitment to collaborate more smoothly moving forward.
According to Yahoo, De La Cruz and Fong started feeling the pressure to return to California.
The complaint states that the employees who relocated to Florida expressed concerns about the potential long-term effects on their futures due to the fact that many of Disney's teams were still based on the West Coast.
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