An executive vice president in Disney’s games division filed a lawsuit against the company March 13, alleging a leader in Disney’s HR department “surreptitiously” contacted an executive coach he’d obtained through a company benefit in order to “dig up dirt” on his relationships with colleagues.
The plaintiff in Ong v. The Walt Disney Co., et al., said he experienced tension with HR shortly after transitioning into his role, as “his direct, streamlined, and performance-driven leadership style conflicted with the slower, consensus-based approach favored by HR.”
While the exec pushed to reorganize and speak directly with his team about their roles, he alleged an HR vice president “berated [him] in a demeaning and condescending manner” in a one-on-one meeting, calling him a “poor ‘cultural fit.’”
Later, the executive sought out the services of an executive coach offered through the company’s benefits plan. While he said he understood the content of the discussions to be confidential, he alleged the same HR VP contacted his coach and sought detailed information he’d disclosed about his working relationships with colleagues, including the HR VP herself.
While a “touch point with HR” was built into the agreement, the coach and plaintiff had agreed the content of the sessions would be private, according to the complaint, making the exploration by HR “a shocking breach of confidentiality, privacy, and trust.”
The executive filed an internal complaint, but alleged that “HR either failed to conduct any meaningful investigation, or simply embarked on a synthetic investigation of itself.” He said he was not interviewed, and no outside investigator was brought to his attention.
Shortly after the complaint was closed, the executive had his annual review, where he said he was informed his compensation and bonus would be reduced. He was allegedly informed the decision was not based on performance, but rather on a “long-ago incident” of conflict between himself and his supervisor.
The plaintiff alleged violations of California state law including racial discrimination, retaliation, invasion of privacy and other claims. He alleged Asian employees are underrepresented among executives in his department, and that his treatment “is part of a broader pattern” of discrimination against those of Asian descent at Disney.
Neither Disney nor an attorney for the plaintiff responded to a request for comment by press time.
