Activision Blizzard to pay $54 million to settle California state workplace discrimination claims
LOS ANGELES — Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay about $54 million to settle discrimination claims filed by California's civil rights office on behalf of women who work at the video game maker.
The settlement, which must still be approved by a court, resolves allegations that the maker of Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft and other video games “has discriminated against women within the company, including by denying promotional opportunities and giving them less then pay men for substantial activities.” similar work,” the California Civil Rights Department announced late Friday.
Allegations of workplace discrimination helped drag down Activision's stock price in 2021, paving the way for Microsoft's eventual takeover bid in January 2022. The software giant, which owns the Xbox gaming system, closed its deal in October to worth $69 billion to buy Activision after fending off global competition. opposition from antitrust regulators and rivals.
California's civil rights office sued Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard in July 2021, alleging that female employees faced ongoing sexual harassment, few women were appointed to leadership positions and, when they did, they received less pay, incentives and total compensation than men. peers.
Employees spoke out about harassment and discrimination, signed petitions criticizing the company for its defensive response to the lawsuit and organized a strike.
Under the terms of the settlement, women who worked for the company between October 12, 2015 and December 31, 2020, either as a hired or independent contractor, may be eligible to receive compensation. About $45.75 million of the settlement amount is earmarked for such payouts, the state agency said.
Activision Blizzard also agreed to take steps to ensure “fair compensation and promotion practices” at the company.
“We appreciate the importance of the issues addressed in this agreement and we are committed to fully implementing any new commitments we have made as part of it,” Activision Blizzard said in a statement on Saturday.
The company also noted that the California Civil Rights Department has agreed to file an amended complaint withdrawing the sexual harassment allegations.
The settlement agreement states that “no court or independent investigation has substantiated any allegations” of systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard, nor alleges that the company's board of directors and CEO acted inappropriately or created a culture of harassment , retaliation or violence. discrimination.
In September 2021, Activision settled sexual harassment and discrimination claims brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, agreeing to establish an $18 million fund to compensate people who were harassed or discriminated against.
And earlier this year, the company agreed to pay $35 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it failed to maintain controls to collect and review workplace complaints related to to have violated disclosure requirements and a federal whistleblower protection rule. In paying the settlement, Activision neither admitted nor denied the SEC's findings and agreed to a cease and desist order.