California's Civil Rights Department completed the deal after two years.
Image credit: Activision Blizzard | Overwatch 2
Activision Blizzard is infamous for the several lawsuits against it, revealing the not-so-healthy conditions at the company. Now, at least one of them has been resolved, although the developer will have to pay a sizeable chunk of money for it.
As reported by The New York Times, Activision Blizzard settled its sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit with California's Civil Rights Department two years after it was filed. The company will have to pay about $54 million in the settlement.
The Civil Rights Department and Activision Blizzard said that “no court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations” about “systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard.” According to the documents, an investigation had not found any evidence against Activision’s board, its executives, or its CEO, Robert Kotick.
The original investigation from the California Civil Rights Department, which was then called the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, found that Activision “fostered a pervasive ‘frat boy’ workplace” and that female employees were “subjected to constant sexual harassment.” The developer itself claimed the complaint had “distorted and, in many cases, false, descriptions” and was “irresponsible behavior from unaccountable state bureaucrats” at the time.
Image credit: Activision Blizzard | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
The settlement between the organizations is expected to be filed in court early next week. One of the expert witnesses from the California Civil Rights Department testified that he did not find a pay disparity when considering the seniority of women's roles at the company. However, he said there was a disparity when not taking into account the rank of the employees.
Activision also agreed to hire an outside consultant to evaluate compensation, promotion policies, and training materials, according to The New York Times.
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