Activision Blizzard Settles Workplace Discrimination Lawsuit for $54M
Activision Blizzard, the company behind popular video games such as Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, has settled a workplace discrimination lawsuit with the State of California for $54 million. The settlement comes after allegations that the company discriminated against women, denying them promotion opportunities and paying them less than men for similar work.
The California Civil Rights Department announced the settlement late Friday, stating that the allegations included claims of constant sexual harassment, lack of female leadership, and gender-based pay disparities.
As part of the settlement, Activision Blizzard has agreed to set aside $45.75 million for compensation to women who worked for the company between October 2015 and December 2020. The company has also committed to implementing fair pay and promotion practices.
“We appreciate the importance of the issues addressed in this agreement and we are dedicated to fully implementing all the new obligations we have assumed as part of it,” Activision Blizzard said in a statement.
In addition to the workplace discrimination lawsuit, Activision Blizzard has also been facing attempts by the Federal Trade Commission to block its merger agreement with Microsoft. The software giant completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion in October 2022, overcoming opposition from antitrust regulators and rivals.
The settlement agreement states that no court or independent investigation has substantiated the allegations of systemic sexual harassment or improper actions by Activision Blizzard’s board of directors or CEO.
The California Civil Rights Department has agreed to file an amended complaint, withdrawing the sexual harassment allegations as part of the settlement. However, the company’s reputation and stock price were affected by the allegations, ultimately leading to the acquisition by Microsoft.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.