Workers sue Disney claiming they were fraudulently induced to move to Florida from California

abcnews.go.com:

Disney workers are suing their employer, claiming they were fraudulently induced to move from California to Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney workers are suing their employer, claiming they were fraudulently induced to move from California to Florida to work in a new office campus only to have those plans later scrapped amid a fight between the entertainment giant and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

In July 2021, the Disney Parks' chief told workers in California that most white-collar employees would be transferred to the new campus in Orlando to consolidate different teams and allow for greater collaboration.

As many as 2,000 workers in digital technology, finance and product development departments would be transferred to the campus located about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from the giant Walt Disney World theme park resort, the company said at the time.

Many workers were reluctant to make the move given their longstanding ties to Southern California and fears of uprooting their families, but Disney encouraged the move by promising a state-of-the-art, centralized workplace and greater affordability in central Florida, according to the class action lawsuit filed earlier this week.

“In sum, employees were incentivized to move through a combination of reward and punishment,” the lawsuit said. “An employee could choose to move to a better life in Florida, or alternatively, choose not to move and be terminated by Disney.”

By late 2021, as large numbers of Disney employees resisted relocating, Disney told them to put their moving plans on hold. Meanwhile, a group of workers who had decided to relocate, including the lead plaintiffs, Maria De La Cruz and George Fong, sold their California homes with the understanding that the company