On the left, Brian Grazer, founder of Imagine Entertainment, and Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, arrive at the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley conference on July 9, 2019 in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images
A federal judge approved video game publisher Activision Blizzard’s agreement with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after the government agency found evidence of sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination and related responses at the company.
The agreement could help reduce risk as Microsoft prepares to acquire Activision Blizzard for $ 68.7 billion in what is expected to be the largest technology transaction in the United States to date.
Activision Blizzard first announced an agreement with the EEOC in September. Two months earlier, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit against Activision, saying it underpaid women and had a “fraternity boys culture” that was a “breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women.”
Judge Dale Fisher of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California signed a decree approving the EEOC late Tuesday. Fischer rejected the California agency’s request to intervene in the EEOC case. The California agency is appealing to the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the 9th District, which on Monday rejected the agency’s request for an emergency stay in the EEOC case.
No one is automatically involved in the claim. People can apply for sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination or related revenge claims they have experienced since September 2016, said Anna Park, regional prosecutor at the EEOC district office in Los Angeles, during a media briefing in Wednesday. People can wait for the California Agency case, which will only apply in California, to play or file individual cases if they wish, she said.
Park said anyone who thinks the fund is not big enough should think that Fischer, the judge, has ruled that the provisions of the consent decree are adequate.
Three female plaintiffs, who declined to give their names for fear of retaliation against friends or family members, described their alleged experience at the company during a briefing on Wednesday.
One woman claimed that a male employee asked if he was interested in a relationship with him and his wife after seeing the woman’s profile on a dating app. She said she reported the human resources incident but did not receive a response.
Another woman claims to have reported sexual harassment, which one of her direct reports suffered in front of human resources. She said she received a link to watch a training video about her management duty to report human resource incidents. The company put her in a plan to improve productivity, her manager repeatedly lectured her about her attitude, and she later lost her job, she said.
A third woman claims to have been sexually harassed by two of her managers and knows colleagues who have received unsolicited nude photos from a man, a senior manager. She said she had sent reports to human resources and senior executives, but had not received a response. She said she had physical health problems caused by stress that required surgery, and that she had no choice but to quit her job.
In a statement Tuesday, Activision Blizzard reiterated its commitments in its EEOC agreement. She agreed to set up a $ 18 million compensation fund for the plaintiffs and to distribute all remaining money to certain non-profit organizations focused on women’s advancement in video games and technology, or on awareness of sexual harassment and gender equality.
The company also said it would update its performance review system with a focus on equal opportunities. He said he would hire an equal employment coordinator and hire a consultant to monitor compliance.
“We apologize to all victims who have suffered as a result of behavior that is not in line with our values,” an activist Blizzard spokesman told CNBC.
Activision Blizzard says it has already quadrupled its ethics and compliance team, waived mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment and discrimination claims for incidents after October 28, 2021, tightened alcohol policies and introduced policies of zero tolerance for harassment and discrimination.
The EEOC may apply to the court if the company does not comply. Park said possible outcomes include extending the current three-year decree and penalties.
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