A Black man is suing the Walt Disney Co., alleging his Latino IT team leader made inappropriate remarks about Black people while in the workplace and favored employees of his own race.
William Lacks’ Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit also names as a defendant Capgemini America Inc., a digitial information provider to Disney. Lacks contends he was employed by both companies and his allegations include wrongful termination, racial discrimination and harassment, retaliation and both intentional and negative infliction of emotional distress.
Lacks seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. A Disney representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit filed Friday.
Lacks was hired in 2017 as an IT support engineer and he worked at Disney Studios in Burbank. He was the only Black employee in the technology studio and administrative services group.
Starting in March 2025 and continuing through his termination, Lacks was subjected to racial harassment, hostility and exclusion, according to the suit which further states that the team leader openly stated that he did not trust Black people and, along with a co-worker, regularly made racially derogatory jokes and remarks about Blacks.
The team leader refused to collaborate with Lacks or accept his assistance, instead directing work and support tickets to newer Latino employees, and Lacks was excluded from team conversations, communications and activities, the suit alleges.
Lacks was unduly assigned the heavy lifting and a full studio inventory inspection across the projector, conference, screening, review and editing rooms, the suit states. The heavy work eventually left the plaintiff with a hernia, the suit states.
Lacks also was removed from the red-carpet events and associated overtime he had previously worked, the suit alleges. His supervisor laughed when told about the team leader’s alleged racism and protected the offender rather than address the issues Lacks raised, according to the suit.
Lacks was let go in November 2025 and management said nothing to him about a poor job performance, according to the suit, which further states that the termination came without warning and he was not offered any progressive discipline.
Lacks believes he lost his job for complaining about the alleged workplace discrimination, the suit states. The plaintiff has suffered lost wages and emotional distress, the suit further contends.