The still-winding story that is the series of legal, federal, and outside investigations into workplace practices, harassment, and discrimination at Activision Blizzard got a new chapter. After a judge denied the state of California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)'s attempt to stop the company from settling with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the DFEH has appealed.
The California DFEH, which filed its own direct lawsuit against Activision Blizzard last July, has sought to prevent the announced $18 million settlement from being finalized and the latest appeal was filed on Friday. In its original request to intervene in the settlement case, the state issued its claim based on representing the “interest in upholding the rights of California citizens and an interest in protecting DFEH’s ability to prosecute its own parallel state court case based on California law”. This claim was denied and now it moves back to the courts once again.
The DFEH’s position remains that if Activision-Blizzard were allowed to settle the federal investigation suit as planned, it might undermine California’s case, lead to potential further evidence destruction, and even possibly release the company from the state’s case completely.
The ongoing series of allegations and investigations and legal challenges are just one part of what Activision Blizzard is facing. In recent weeks, Raven Software QA employees have been on strike after a dozen colleagues were suddenly laid off, with other divisions seeing QA employees join in solidarity. This after other workers walked out on two other occasions after the DFEH suit and after the investigation by the Wall Street Journal with accusations that CEO Bobby Kotick knew about ongoing allegations of discrimination and abuse, with some calling for his resignation.
The company board stands with Kotick and his leadership. Activision Blizzard released the company’s representation report on employees for the first time and has made several statements saying that it aims to do better, with the announcement of several initiatives and investment in more diverse hiring and retention, as well as workplace monitoring and reform.
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