Judge Approves Activision Blizzard's $18 Million Settlement In Gender Discrimination And Harassment Case

In September 2021, Activision Blizzard agreed to terms to settle one of its high-profile gender discrimination lawsuits, and that settlement has now been approved. A federal court on Tuesday announced that it would approve Activision Blizzard’s proposed settlement with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which is the next step toward creating an $18 million fund to compensate and make amends to workers affected by gender discrimination and harassments claims within the company.

Under the terms of the agreement, Activision will create an $18 million fund for eligible claimants and take steps to enhance its “policies, practices, and training” to help prevent harassment and discrimination in the future. Additionally, Activision Blizzard said it will work with a “neutral, third-party equal employment opportunity consultant” to provide oversight on Activision Blizzard’s compliance. This person will be a non-Activision Blizzard employee approved by the EEOC. This individual will report their findings directly to the EEOC and Activision Blizzard’s board of directors.

What’s more, Activision said it hired Stacy Jackson on March 16 to become the company’s new EEO coordinator. The company went on to say that it also has a new zero-tolerance policy for harassment and retaliation across the company, while the size of its Ethics & Compliance team has “quadrupled” in size.

Activision Blizzard also said it “significantly increased” its investment in ethics and compliance training, while it now does better with transparency regarding pay equity and diversity representation, the company said. The Call of Duty giant donated $1 million to Women in Games International and waived forced arbitration for individual sexual harassment and discrimination claims for those pertaining to events that happened after October 28, 2021.

What’s more, Activision Blizzard said it has a new in-house tool that tracks data on the representation and presence of women and underrepresented ethnic group candidates at all stages of the hiring process. Additionally, Activision Blizzard said it now has “stricter policies” pertaining to alcohol consumption.

Activision Blizzard has a goal of increasing the representation of women and non-binary workers by 50% in the next five years. Additionally, Activision Blizzard is spending $250 million over the next decade on efforts to “foster expanded opportunities in gaming and technology for under-represented communities.”

Activision Blizzard is also facing a lawsuit from California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing related to sexual harassment and pay violations, among other things. That case is ongoing.

The EEOC and DFEH have been at odds in this matter, with the DFEH trying to intervene, but ultimately had its position denied by a judge, according to NPR. Anyone who accepts money from the EEOC settlement cannot receive a payout from the DFEH lawsuit, should it be finalized.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who is personally accused of knowing about and covering up instances of sexual harassment and other abuse, is reportedly going to leave the company after Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard goes through.

Related Posts

Best Settings For CoD- Black Ops 6 Beta- Controller Layouts, Sensitivity, And More

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 arrives on October 25, but you can still get hands-on with the game during the open beta. Week two of the beta starts on September 6, and you’ll want to adjust some of the game settings to make the most of Black Ops 6’s new omnimovement system. This guide covers the controllers, graphics, and audio settings in the Black Ops 6 menus.

Optimal settings are always going to be subjective, but here we detail our preferred options for console players on PS4/PS5 and Xbox One/Xbox Series X|S:

By clicking ‘enter’, you agree to GameSpot's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Caustic Guide – Apex Legends

If you’re reading this, you’re probably seeking ways to improve your skills playing as Caustic in Apex Legends. For a character such as Caustic, defensive tactics are all the rage. His super deadly gas traps can quickly overwhelm and hinder the mobility of opposing squads, offering you and your teammates fertile opportunity for ambushes. At a glance, this stinky fellow’s abilities often seem more contextual than universally functional, but with a bit of practice under your belt, you can easily use that to your advantage. Keep reading for everything you need to know about Caustic’s abilities, his strengths and weaknesses, and a selection of tips on how to use him effectively so that you can lead your team to victory.

His abilities are all about the gas

As stated above, Caustic’s strategies are a bit contextual. His Gas Traps are lethal, but it takes a firm understanding of their capabilities to use them effectively. And with such a large ma…

Difficulty Of Diablo 4's Abbatoir Of Zir Event Is "Pretty Excessive," So It's Getting A Major Nerf

After player feedback and complaints, Diablo IV’s meant-to-be-hard Abbatoir of Zir event is having its difficulty significantly scaled down.

The Abbatoir of Zir event kicked off on December 5 as part of Diablo IV’s vampire-themed Season 2, and was intended as a way for max-level players with optimal gear to further challenge themselves after having already conquered the game’s level 100 Nightmare dungeons. Even so, players complained about just how much harder the event–which functions similarly to Greater Rifts in Diablo III in that players must kill a certain number of enemies within a time limit–was to the game’s other endgame activities.

Alien- Romulus Will Release On VHS, Something No Major Studio Has Done In 18 Years

It’s apparently been 18 years since a major studio has released a movie on VHS, but that drought will be broken when Alien: Romulus comes out for the outdated platform on December 3. That’s right: An actual tape of the sci-fi horror movie is getting made, though it will be a limited edition.

The official Alien account on X shared that Alien: Romulus writer/director Fede Álvarez revealed the special VHS release at Beyond Fest over the weekend. Artist Matt Ferguson has created the cover for the tape, which will come out at the same time as the Alien: Romulus Blu-ray. The previous major studio release on VHS was reportedly A History of Violence in 2006, according to Inverse. 20th Century Studios–now owned by Disney–is behind the Alien: Romulus VHS launch.