[Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the Activision Blizzard settlement was related to sexual harassment allegations. A spokesperson for the company has now confirmed that those allegations have been dropped and that the settlement was related to pay inequality. We regret the error, and an updated version of the story is below.]
Over two years ago, giant video game publisher Activision Blizzard ( call of duty and Diabloamong others) be hit with a large-scale lawsuit The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing accused the company of having a “fratboy culture” with routine discrimination and sexual harassment against female employees. Now, the California Department of Civil Rights has decided to dismiss all harassment claims, and Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay about $55 million in pay inequality settlements, including about $4,500,000. The million dollars will be donated to the foundation. Compensate workers.
This is according to a statement from Activision Blizzard (details can be found below), stating that CRD says that “allegations of systematic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard have not been substantiated by a court or independent investigation.” states that it has been confirmed. The company’s leadership was not found to have acted “inappropriately in the handling of workplace misconduct.”
In addition to repaying employees, Activision Blizzard plans to use surplus funds from the settlement to support “charitable organizations focused on advancing women in the video game and technology industry” or “awareness of gender equality issues in the workplace.” I have consented to the use of my information to support the promotion of ”
The first lawsuit filed after a multi-year investigation alleges that Activision Blizzard has a history of failing to promote women and discriminating against women at all levels of the company, with senior positions held almost exclusively by white men. insisted. The lawsuit also alleged that women were consistently employed in lower positions, paid less and had fewer opportunities for advancement. Additionally, female employees were reportedly victims of “cube crawls,” where male employees drink alcohol and move from cubicle to cubicle, engaging in “inappropriate behavior toward female employees.” .
After the lawsuit was filed, Blizzard president J. Allen Black said: got off Multiple strikes were held in protest of leadership’s response to reports about toxic workplaces, including one walkout. Coinciding with the campaign to oust CEO Bobby Kotick. He also accused the company of not doing enough about its workplace culture after a former employee (one of the highest-paid executives in the entire industry) claimed her boss raped her. However, according to this new information, all of that has been resolved and the allegations have been dropped, with a statement from Activision Blizzard stating that the company has “resolved all public regulatory investigations or complaints regarding employee workplace conduct.” ing.
The settlement comes almost exactly two months later. Microsoft’s attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard finally succeededThere’s no way to know if the timing is a coincidence, but it seems like a good thing for Microsoft to get everything done before the new year.
The full statement from an Activision Blizzard spokesperson is below.
We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) today, as CRD announced in a press statement. We recognize the importance of the issues addressed in this agreement and are committed to fully implementing all new obligations undertaken as part of it. We want our employees to know that we are committed to ensuring fair compensation and promotion policies and practices for all employees, as specified in our agreements. Outreach, recruit, and retain qualified candidates from underrepresented and underrepresented communities.
We are also pleased that CRD has agreed to file an amended complaint completely withdrawing its 2021 complaint alleging widespread and systematic workplace harassment at Activision Blizzard. As CRD specifically acknowledged in the agreement, “CRD, together with the proposed consent ordinance, asserts, among other claims and causes of action, the fifth cause of action, “Employment Discrimination – Sex – Harassment Employment Discrimination.” A second amended complaint has been filed to withdraw the complaint. ” As CRD also expressly acknowledged in the agreement, “Allegations that there was systematic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard have not been substantiated by a court or an independent investigation.” Additionally, the CRD has submitted that no court or independent He admitted that there was no investigation conducted.
