Disney Places Dozens of Venezuelan Workers on Unpaid Leave Amid Uncertainty Over TPS Protections

The Walt Disney Company has placed approximately 45 Florida-based Venezuelan employees on unpaid leave as they face the imminent threat of losing their legal work status under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, following a recent Supreme Court ruling, as per Fox News.

According to Bloomberg, Disney informed affected workers on Tuesday that they would be placed on a 30-day unpaid leave starting May 20. The company cited concerns over potential violations of federal employment law if the employees’ TPS-based work authorizations are revoked.

The action follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this week that lifted a lower court injunction, allowing the Trump administration to move forward with plans to terminate TPS protections for an estimated 350,000 Venezuelans currently living in the United States.

In a statement to FOX Business, a Disney spokesperson confirmed the company had placed around 45 employees—referred to internally as “cast members”—on leave while maintaining their benefits.

“As we sort out the complexities of this situation, we have placed affected employees on leave with benefits to ensure they are not in violation of the law,” the spokesperson said. “We are committed to protecting the health, safety, and well-being of all our employees who may be navigating changing immigration policies and how they could impact them or their families.”

If the employees fail to present new valid work authorization within the 30-day window, they risk termination, according to internal communications reported by Bloomberg.

TPS was originally established in the 1990s to offer temporary legal status to individuals from countries deemed unsafe to return to due to armed conflict, natural disaster, or extraordinary conditions. Those under TPS are protected from deportation and allowed to work legally in the U.S.

In 2021, the Biden administration extended TPS protections to Venezuelans fleeing economic and political turmoil under Nicolás Maduro’s regime. However, earlier this year, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem moved to terminate the designation for a subset of Venezuelan nationals, citing national interest concerns.

Although a federal judge in California temporarily blocked the move in March, calling the termination “unprecedented” and potentially rooted in “negative stereotypes,” the Supreme Court this week cleared the way for the Trump administration to enforce the rollback.