A group of nearly a dozen local and state elected officials, including four Orange County commissioners, have sent letters to the Walt Disney Co. asking that they investigate allegations of workers rights’ violations made against the Patina Group, a third-party company that operates five restaurants on the Disney Springs property and three restaurants at Disney’s EPCOT in Lake Buena Vista.
Allegations against the Patina Group include violations of federal labor law — specifically interfering with workers’ right to form a union — as well as what’s seen as violations of Disney’s supply chain code of conduct. This code of conduct includes compliance with federal and state law and prohibits harassment or abuse of employees on the job.
At least two young female Patina Group employees have publicly spoken up about sexual harassment they allegedly experienced on the job at the hands of a supervisor, who they say managed to keep his job even after it was reported. One of the young women who spoke out about it, meanwhile, was fired by the Patina Group shortly after. The official reason she was given for her firing was for wearing an earbud while clocking into work…