Activision Blizzard is not eager to fight the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in court, especially with the various other legal issues the company is facing at the moment, so Activision Blizzard is to pay an $18 million settlement relief as part of a consent decree, which will be going to ‘eligible claimants’ after an EEOC lawsuit on Activision.
Whilst Activision Blizzard completely denies any outright wrongdoing, the publisher is making attempts to solve issues is by stating they will take steps to ensure that it is in compliance with the Civil Rights Act and other equal-employment rules so that similar complaints against will not reoccur in the future.
The good news surrounding this is the $18 million paid after this EEOC lawsuit on Activision, and where it will be going. This will spread fairly amongst those its commission believes are deserving of these funds. Of course many of the original complaints about sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation will be included in these claimants, so they will hopefully see some compensation for their experiences.
In a predictably canned statement, Activision Blizzard chief executive officer Bobby Kotick framed the EEOC’s investigation as productive. “We will continue to be vigilant in our commitment to the elimination of harassment and discrimination in the workplace,” said Kotick. This is the latest word from Kotick after a letter to all Blizzard employees regarding the complaints. In addition to this, a good agreement has been met with the two parties, and Activision will be appointing a third-party, EEOC-approved equal-employment opportunity coordinator. This will endeavor to improve the hiring and training processes in the company.
Of course, this isn’t the only issue facing Blizzard, as they are still currently being investigated by California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, in regards to the harassment and various other complaints issued against the company.
Regardless of this, it is definitely welcome news of the Activision Blizzard settlement, and that some of the victims will be receiving compensation for what they have had to experience.
Keep reading The Nerd Stash for all the latest news!
