In context: This week, a choose authorised an $18 million settlement Activision Blizzard reached with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) final 12 months. It settles one of many a number of sexual harassment lawsuits introduced in opposition to it for its “frat-boy tradition.” The firm remains to be on the hook for others because it tries to emerge from a 12 months of scandal and full its acquisition by Microsoft.
The EEOC was certainly one of a number of organizations that introduced claims in opposition to Activision Blizzard final 12 months, accusing the corporate of sexually harassing and discriminating in opposition to its feminine staff. The $18 million settlement was reached with the fee final September and has now been signed by US District Judge Dale S Fischer, making it official.
The judgment signifies that anybody who labored at Activision Blizzard since September of 2016 can submit a declare to hitch the settlement, so long as it pertains to sexual harassment or gender discrimination. However, staff who want to file claims over pay discrimination can alternately be part of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) lawsuit, which began final July and is ongoing.
Overlap between the 2 instances precipitated some battle between the 2 businesses final fall when the DEFH tried to intervene within the EEOC settlement, fearing it might launch Activision from the DEFH’s case. Judge Fischer disagreed, denying the intervention in January.
Last week, staff opened one other sexual harassment lawsuit in opposition to Activision Blizzard within the Superior Court of Los Angeles. Even with the official closure of the EEOC case, the corporate’s authorized troubles are removed from over.
