Almost four Venezuelan workers who held temporary protected positions have been taken on leave by Disney after the US Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to take legal protections.
The move was made to ensure employees were not violating the law, Disney said in a statement Friday.
45 workers from the company who took leave will continue to receive benefits.
“We are committed to protecting the health, safety and well-being of all employees who may be navigating changing immigration policies and how they affect them and their families,” the statement said.
About two-thirds of the workers were working in union jobs. A union agreement for Walt Disney World Service Workers in Florida allows for proper work approval to be provided within a year of losing their job, and can be revived without losing seniority or benefits, said Julie Jerikovich, the local 1625 secretary treasurer of the United Nations United Food and Commercial Workers.
“It’s very painful,” Jerikovich said Friday. “Disney is being made to be the bad guy, but there was no choice.”
If workers hadn’t taken leave, Disney would have been criticized, and US immigrants and customs enforcement agents raided at Disney World, she said.
A Supreme Court order on Monday put a hold on ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco. Justice provided no basis. This is common in emergency appeals.
The order could expose as many as 350,000 Venezuelans to deportation. This position already allows Americans to live and work legally, as they are already considered unsafe for return due to natural disasters and civil conflicts.
The case is the latest in a series of emergency appeals made by President Donald Trump to the Supreme Court, many of which were related to immigration and in Venezuela. Earlier this month, the government asked the courts to end humanitarian parole for hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, as well as for potential deportation.
“These workers – our colleagues, friends and neighbors – have made a huge contribution to the success of the Walt Disney Company and the vibrant culture of Central Florida,” the union coalition at Disney World said in a statement. “After building a life here, you don’t have to live in fear of losing everything.”
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Original issue: May 23, 2025 1:08pm EDT
