Walt Disney Co has settled a complaint brought by the US Department of Labor for violations relating to minimum wage laws.
Disney will pay $3.8 million to more than 16,000 workers.
DOL claims Disney deducted a uniform or ‘costume’ expense out of workers’ pay taking it below minimum wage.
Employees were also not paid for duties carried out pre- and post-shift and the company failed to keep sufficient payroll records.
"Employers cannot make deductions that take workers below the minimum wage and must accurately track and pay for all the hours their employees work, including any time they work before or after their scheduled shifts," said Daniel White, district director for the Jacksonville Wage and Hour Division.
We hope the resolution of this case alerts other employers who may be paying employees in a similar manner, so that they too can correct their practices and operate in compliance with the law."
Payouts will be received by workers of Disney resorts, parks and its Vacation Club division.
Disney said in a statement: "We will be providing a one-time payment to resolve this. We are adjusting our procedures to avoid this in the future."
Under the terms of the settle Disney is require to train managers in what constitutes ‘compensatable work time.’
