Activision Blizzard to settle CA unequal pay case for $56M

Edited at 7:45pm PT — The authentic model of this text incorrectly said the settlement was associated to sexual harassment, not unequal employment practices on the idea of intercourse. We have up to date the article to replicate this data and we remorse the error.

Activision Blizzard has reportedly entered into an settlement with the California Civil Rights Department to settle its 2021 case alleging intercourse discrimination in its employment practices.

Next week, the California CRD will file an amended declare withdrawing all allegations of systemic harassment-related in line with experiences from the Wall Street Journal and documentation seen by VentureBeat. This settlement will resolve the amended declare that focuses solely on claims of unequal compensation and promotion practices on the idea of intercourse from 2015-2020. 

Notably, the settlement goes additional than merely withdrawing these allegations. Through the settlement, the California CRD agrees that “no court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations” about “systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard,” nor “that Activision Blizzard senior executives ignored, condoned or tolerated a culture of systemic, harassment, retaliation or discrimination.” Additionally, the settlement additionally mentioned that its investigation discovered no proof of wrongdoing by Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, or its board.

The state’s professional witnesses testified {that a} gender pay hole existed total, however a pay disparity was not discovered amongst workers of the identical rank. This information aligns with the corporate’s Pay Equity Review for 2020 and its 2023 Transparency Report. The amended declare and settlement settlement might be filed in court docket early subsequent week.

Per the settlement, Activision Blizzard’s most settlement will whole practically $56 million. The writer will apart as a lot as $46.75 million to pay ladies workers who mentioned that they had obtained inequitable pay from 2015-2020. An extra $9.125 million was awarded to cowl lawyer’s charges.

Activision Blizzard has maintained its innocence each with regard to unequal pay and allegations of sexual harassment. The firm reportedly fired 37 workers within the months that adopted these allegations to handle “isolated instances” of office misconduct. Additionally, the corporate settled its Federal EEOC grievance in March 2022 for $18 million.

Earlier this yr, Microsoft handed key regulatory hurdles within the U.S. and U.Ok. acquired Activision Blizzard in October. This deal was partially a results of the allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination as a result of the writer’s inventory worth fell in response.

Riot Games confronted an identical lawsuit from the California Civil Rights Department. The case settled for $100 million earlier this yr. Of the sum, 80% went to over 1,500 ladies who labored with the corporate between 2014 and 2021.

At 8pm PT Activision Blizzard offered an announcement concerning the settlement included in full beneath.

We are gratified that we’ve got reached an settlement with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) at present, because the CRD has now introduced in a press assertion. We respect the significance of the problems addressed on this settlement and we’re devoted to completely implementing all the brand new obligations we’ve got assumed as a part of it. We need our workers to know that, because the settlement specifies, we’re dedicated to making sure truthful compensation and promotion insurance policies and practices for all our workers, and we are going to proceed our efforts concerning inclusion of certified candidates from underrepresented communities in outreach, recruitment, and retention.

We are additionally gratified that the CRD has agreed to file an amended grievance that totally withdraws its 2021 claims alleging widespread and systemic office harassment at Activision Blizzard. As the CRD acknowledged explicitly within the settlement, “CRD is filing along with a Proposed Consent Decree a Second Amended Complaint that withdraws, among other allegations and causes of action, the Fifth Cause of Action – “Employment Discrimination – Because of Sex – Harassment.” As the CRD additionally expressly acknowledged within the settlement, “no court or independent investigation has substantiated any allegations that there has been systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard.” In addition, the CRD has acknowledged that no court docket or impartial investigation substantiated any allegations that “Activision Blizzard’s Board of Directors, including its Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kotick, acted improperly with regard to the handling of any instances of workplace misconduct.”