Activision Blizzard has created an $18 million fund to pay employees who have suffered harassment and discrimination. This was one of the terms of the agreement with the American Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) — shortly before that, the agency sued the publisher.
According to The Verge portal, the EEOC began investigating the situation at Activision Blizzard in 2018. After collecting enough evidence, she contacted the company. Negotiations started on June 15, 2021 — a month before the publisher received a lawsuit from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH).
Yesterday, on September 27, EEOC filed its own lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. Shortly after, the publisher’s management announced a peace agreement with the agency.
Activision Blizzard promised:
- launch an $18 million fund that will pay compensation to employees. If money remains in the fund after that, the publisher will give it to non-profit companies that advocate equality in the gaming industry;
- update the internal corporate policy, training processes and the employee performance review system to get rid of discrimination in the company;
- hire an independent observer who will check for at least three years whether Activision Blizzard complies with the agreement. He will report to the publisher’s board of directors and the EEOC.
The agreement with EEOC was commented on by the head of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick:
“There is no place for discrimination and harassment in our company. I am grateful to the employees who bravely told about what happened to them. I’m sorry that anyone had to face this, and I remain steadfast in my desire to make Activision Blizzard one of the most open and respected employers in the world.”
Recall that Activision Blizzard has been actively talking about the situation since July. Then DFEH sued the company, accusing the publisher of infringing on women’s rights. This led to numerous protests and dismissals. Also last week it became known that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched its own investigation into the company.