A federal court judge has approved Activision Blizzard’s $18 Million (13.63 million GBP) settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed last year by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Current and former employees going back as far as September 1st, 2016, can officially submit a claim about sexual harassment, retaliation or pregnancy discrimination, to be considered for relief. While the EEOC settlement as of today, is the second biggest of its kind the agency has ever agreed, it is not without its critics,including the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).

Prior to US government’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filing a lawsuit last September , the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) sued Activision Bilzzard back in July last year. due to their failure to handle discrimination and sexual harassment against female employees.

The EEOC is a federal agency, whereas the DFEH is a state agency have been involved in a dispute over how much victims should receive from Activision Blizzard, with the latter being far more aggressive in its pursuit of compensation.

The DFEH fears it’s case, which is scheduled to go ahead in court February 2023 may be undermined by today’s settlement, which it had been attempting to delay. As first reported by The 

Washington Post, victims who are apart of the EEOC settlement can’t be apart of the DFEH’s lawsuit on the specific issues of harassment, retaliation or pregnancy discrimination.

Back in October, labour union the Communications Workers of America, which is representing a number of current and former Activision Blizzard employees, have called the previous proposed $18 million settlement “woefully inadequate”, being quoted that it would “provide the maximum settlement for only 60 workers” when many more may have been adversely affected.

The post Activision Blizzard to pay $18 million to settle its sexual harassment lawsuit. first appeared on Get2Gaming.

Doug Bowser joins Jim Ryan and Phil Spencer in condemning Activision Blizzard’s response to sexual harassment allegations

Last week, Wall Street Journal published an investigative report regarding Activision Blizzard‘s CEO Bobby Kotick and his actions, or inactions, to the sexual harassment allegations raised at the video game publisher and directly implicated Activision CEO Bobby Kotick in perpetuating sexual misconduct himself.

So far, Activision Blizzard employees have called for Kotick’s immediate resignation (he has yet to do so) and Sony and Xbox’s bosses Jim Ryan and Phil Spencer have also condemned the company’s response to the sexual harassment allegations. Now, Doug Bowser (yes, that is his last name), Nintendo of America’s President, has also raised his concerns.

Nintendo’s Response

Jim Ryan and Phil Spencer both sent out emails to their employees regarding their concerns about Activision’s response, and Fanbyte has now revealed that Nintendo’s Doug Bowser also did the same.

 

Along with all of you, I’ve been following the latest developments with Activision Blizzard and the ongoing reports of sexual harassment and toxicity at the company… I find these accounts distressing and disturbing. They run counter to my values as well as Nintendo’s beliefs, values and policies. – Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America President.

 

Bowser also goes on to explain that Nintendo is committed to having an open and inclusive workplace where all are welcome. He remarks the company holds itself to this standard and expects the same from the industry and its partners.

The email states how Nintendo’s representatives have been in touch with Activision and “have taken action, while accessing others”, yet it is not stated what action is being referred to here. Yet Bowser does go on to call on the Entertainment Software Association, a trade group that includes a number of video game publishers, to take a harder stance when it comes to dealing with sexual harassment allegations.

The sexual harassment allegations have been ongoing for quite some time now. The State of California filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard back in July after a two-year investigation into discriminatory behaviour towards female employees at the company. Activision Blizzard continued to receive lawsuits as later on in the year, ABK Alliance filed one under “unfair labour practices”.

Everyone is now looking at Activision Blizzard to clear up the company’s horrifyingly slow take of action.

Sign up for our newsletter from the website.

Instagram: Go2GamesShop

Twitter: Go2Games

Youtube: Go2Games.com

Facebook: Go2Games.com

The post Activision Blizzard: Nintendo Joins Xbox and PlayStation in Condemning Response to Harrassment Allegations first appeared on Get2Gaming.

For some extra backstory on Activision Blizzard‘s lawsuit and recent controversies, feel free to have a gander over at some articles written by myself and others here at Go2Games linked at the end.

For now, it’s enough to know that multiple horrific occurrences of workplace mistreatment and discrimination to women and people of colour have been going on at the company and come to the public’s attention.

The first of these lawsuits in July was put forward by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

Today, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has officially ended its three-year investigation, ending with Activision receiving accusations of workplace inequality, verbal abuse, harassment, and wage gaps. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has demanded that Activision Blizzard compensate employees affected by the inequality with back pay and damages, as well as insurance that the company would ‘institute and carry out policies, practices, and programs to ensure equal employment opportunities, and which eradicate the effects of its past and present unlawful employment practices’.

Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, has reached a settlement with the EEOC’s lawsuit and took part in a press release that outlined the promises and conditions of the conditions regarding the agreed settlement. Bobby Kotick has announced the inclusion of updated policies and training programs to combat sexual discrimination, as well as an ‘Equal Opportunity Expert’ who will interact with third-party consultants to make sure the company has sufficiently improved in accordance with the EEOC’s standards.

Activision has also promised an $18 million fund for the sake of compensating employees harmed by the misconduct, and to contribute to non-profit organizations who champion women in gaming and tech industries. I think they could spare a little more since the company’s net worth is $71.6 billion as of July 9, 2021 [Investopedia], but hey, I’m not an economist.

I’m glad Activision getting publicly dragged through the proverbial dirt has made a point of showing it is possible for victims of workplace abuse to speak up and be heard, though to my knowledge, only one known harasser has faced jail time, and that was from 2018 before the controversy became as mainstream as in 2021. Hopefully, other people who took part in the malpractice at Activision Blizzard will be identified and arrested sooner rather than later.

While the compensation will likely go a long way to improving the lives of others (and a little towards the company’s image), I believe Activision reaching a settlement deal is morally questionable at best. And at worst? An example of how having enough money means you can brush off the possibility of more severe punishments under the law. Admittedly, I have been going through a period of re-evaluating my self-proclaimed ‘Leftist’ tramp-stamp, but it is occurrences like this that remind me that in a system where money is the be-all-end-all of how badly someone faces punishment, then changes should definitely be made and advocated for to heavily reduce that as much as possible.

–

For more info on Activision Blizzard click on the following article titles:

Over 1000 Employees Condemning Activision Blizzard’s Response to Allegations

Blizzard Will No Longer Name Characters After Real Employees

Activision Blizzard: 3 Senior Blizzard Employees Have Left the Company, Including Diablo 4 Director

–

Sign up for our newsletter from the website.

Instagram: Go2GamesShop

Twitter: Go2Games

Youtube: Go2Games.com

Facebook: Go2Games.com

Store: Go2Games.com

The post Activision Blizzard Settlement! Downsides and Silver Linings first appeared on Get2Gaming.