Activision Blizzard will pay $18 million to settle its federal sexual harassment lawsuit
A federal court judge has approved Activision Blizzard’s $18 million settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed last year by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Current and former employees dating back to September 1, 2016, can submit a claim about sexual harassment, retaliation or pregnancy discrimination, to be considered for relief.
While the EEOC settlement is the second largest 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 the filing of the EEOC’s lawsuit last September, the DFEH sued Activision Blizzard in July 2021 over its failure to handle sexual harassment and discrimination against female employees.
The EEOC, which is a federal agency, and the DFEH, which is a state agency, have been engaged 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 its case, which is scheduled to go to trial in February 2023, may be undermined by today’s settlement, which it had been attempting to delay.
As reported by the Washington Post, victims who become part of the EEOC settlement can’t also be part of the DFEH’s lawsuit on the specific issues of harassment, retaliation or pregnancy discrimination.
Last October, labour union the Communications Workers of America, which is representing a number of current and former Activision Blizzard employees, called the then-proposed $18 million settlement “woefully inadequate”, noting that it would “provide the maximum settlement for only 60 workers” when many more may have been adversely affected.
Last year, Riot Games agreed to pay $100 million to settle
Read more on videogameschronicle.com
