Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced in 2021 plans to relocate employees supporting Disney theme parks and resorts from California to a $1billion office park in Orlando, Florida. Disney was planning to move about 2,000 California employees to a proposed Florida campus to take advance of Florida tax cuts. The move was very unpopular among employees who were asked to move across the country.
However, the new employee campus quickly began a casualty of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ war with the Disney Corporation. A month after Disney filed its lawsuit against Florida and its governor; the company canceled the Lake Nona development that was to house the relocated employees.
Disney announced the reversal in a May 2023 statement: “Given the considerable changes that have occurred since the announcement of this project, including new leadership and changing business conditions, we have decided not to move forward with construction of the campus.” Disney also stated it would discuss the situation with employees who had already moved. However, some Disney employees have filed a lawsuit against Disney in Los Angeles Superior Court. These employees allege that they were threatened with termination if they did not move and were not adequately compensated despite the enormous sacrifices they were asked to make. Some employees claim they had to sell their homes in preparation for the move, only to have the project canceled. The lawsuit alleges that home prices and interest rates in Los Angeles have since climbed, making it difficult for the employees to reclaim the homes they had just sold.
A force majeure clause is a provision that is often included to protect against the risk of liability for a party if an unpreventable circumstance or natural disaster occurs outside the parties’ control and hinders the contracting parties from fulfilling the terms of the contract. Such unforeseen circumstances may include war or a natural disaster like an earthquake. The COVID-19 pandemic would also trigger a force majeure clause.
On the other hand, events that are foreseeable or under a party’s control would not count as a force majeure event. A foreseeable circumstance might include common weather events such as rain or snow.
A force majeure clause may allow parties to cancel a contract if the government enacts a law that hinders performance of their contractual obligations. In such cases, the newly passed regulation may make it illegal for the parties to perform their duties under the existing terms of a contract. The parties may be released from such a contract since fulfilling the terms may have become illegal.
Of course, there must be a force majeure clause in any contract between Disney and its employees for such a contract clause to apply. If there is no clause, then Disney cannot rely on such an exception.
The problem for Disney is that even if a force majeure clause exists, most such clauses do not include a dispute and lawsuit with a state. Florida did not make relocation to its state illegal and as such the current situation does not strictly apply. It is true that the dispute likely made it difficult for Disney to expand in Florida, but difficulty is not impossibility, which is what force majeure typically requires. While Disney did not provoke the issues with Florida, neither did the Disney employees that the company wanted to relocate. Put simply, business deals fall through all the time. If a deal falling apart, it should be the company that should be forced to borne the costs of a business deal that falls through, not the employees.
Do I Need an Employment Lawyer?
If you believe that your employer has violated your legal rights as a worker, you should hire a local employment lawyer for further assistance. A skilled employment law attorney can help protect your interests and defend your rights under the law. Your attorney can also assist you in filing a lawsuit against an employer and/or colleague and in recovering damages for any losses that you suffered.
Alternatively, if you are an employer who is being used by a worker, you should hire an employment law attorney immediately to represent you in court.