Court denies the California DFEH intervention in the Activision-Blizzard EEOC settlement

The ruling does not confirm the settlement is happening, though

    
10
This is going great.

You know that things are not going great for a company when multiple state and federal agencies are all descending on you for various reasons, which is precisely the situation that Activision-Blizzard has been mired in since July. Back in October, the California DFEH raised objections to the settlement that Activision-Blizzard reached with the federal EEOC related to destruction of records and the potential lack of further consequences. However, the judge presiding over the case has officially denied the DFEH’s request to intervene in the settlement, further scolding the two agencies for their rather public feuding over the matter:

This is a bit unseemly […] I feel like I should send the two of you to a mediator, never mind Activision getting involved in this. You apparently have been working well together for a very long time, and you’ll have to be working well together in the future. It seems like not only the defendant but also some of these employees and former employees are going to get caught in the middle here and that’s not appropriate.

It’s worth noting that this judgment does not in and of itself mean the end of what’s happening with the settlement; the court has not yet approved the settlement, merely stopped the DFEH from intervening further in this particular manner. Whether or not it’s a win for Activision-Blizzard thus depends in no small part on your perspective, though it’s clear that the company’s legal troubles regarding ongoing harassment are far from over.

Source: Bloomberg via Wowhead
Activision-Blizzard is considered a controversial company in the MMO and gaming space owing to a long string of scandals over the last few years, including the Blitzchung boycott, mass layoffs, labor disputes, and executive pay fiasco. In the summer of 2021, the company was sued by the state of California for fostering a work environment riddled with sexual harassment and discrimination, the disastrous corporate response to which has further compounded Blizzard’s ongoing pipeline issues and the widespread perception that its online games are in decline. As of fall 2021, multiple state and federal agencies are currently investigating the company and the industry has called for Bobby Kotick’s resignation following fresh reports on his misdeeds.
Previous articleCrowfall’s 7.400 update brings the Mine Overseer’s Tower and winter holiday event
Next articleMassively OP’s 2021 Awards: Best MMO Business Model

No posts to display

10 Comments
newest
oldest most liked
Inline Feedback
View all comments