Workplace Discrimination Lawsuit Settled by Activision for $50 Million
(Reuters) – Activision Blizzard will pay about $50 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit by a California regulator that alleged the video game maker discriminated against female workers, including denying them promotion opportunities and underpaying them.
The California Department of Civil Rights (CRD) sued the Call of Duty maker after a two-year investigation into allegations that it routinely underpaid, failed to promote female employees and condoned sexual harassment.
CRD drops allegations of systemic sexual harassment under settlement agreement seen by Reuters. Other allegations settled in the settlement included that Activision discriminated against women, including by denying them promotion opportunities and paying them less than men for substantially similar work, CRD said in a statement on Friday.
Activision will take additional steps to ensure fair pay and promotion practices and provide financial relief to women who were employees or contract workers in California between October 12, 2015 and December 31, 2020 as part of an agreement subject to court approval, the CRD statement said.
“In the settlement agreement, CRD specifically acknowledged that ‘no court or independent investigation has substantiated allegations of systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard,'” the video game maker said in a statement Friday.
The company also said no investigation found that its board or CEO acted improperly in handling workplace misconduct.
Activision, which Microsoft bought for nearly $69 billion in October, agreed to pay up to $18 million in 2021 to settle similar claims brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
