Fired Workers Settle Disputes With Disney

Four Disneyland employees who were fired for allegedly stealing free passes have resolved their wrongful-termination claims against the amusement park, and another is negotiating a settlement, some of the workers and their lawyers said Wednesday. Details weren’t released.

The workers, fired in December, contend they were bullied by Disneyland’s internal investigators and falsely accused of giving the passes to co-workers and friends.

A source said that all but one of the five have settled disputes with Disney. The fifth, Brad Thurston, was said to be in negotiations with the company. He could not be reached for comment.

One of the workers, Gregg Evangelho, resolved his dispute without filing a lawsuit, said his attorney, George Baugh of Fullerton. He would not elaborate.

Evangelho, who declined to comment, had earlier been granted unemployment benefits by an administrative law judge in the dispute. The judge, Betty G. Leiter, found that Evangelho’s “confession” to theft was made under duress during a 6 1/2-hour interrogation in which he was threatened with arrest.

Jacqueline Madory, a 16-year Disneyland veteran who frequently guided celebrities on tours of the park, said that her wrongful-termination lawsuit had also been settled but wouldn’t elaborate. “All I can say is that the matter has been resolved,” Madory said of her suit against Disneyland’s parent company, Walt Disney World Co.

The employees worked in guest relations, where they were authorized to print free tickets for patrons who complained of bad experiences at the park.

Ray Gomez, a spokesman for the Anaheim park, did not return a call seeking comment.