Activision Blizzard has been making payments to hundreds of its employees who participated in filing of a class action lawsuit against the company. These payments are going out to Activision Blizzard employees who have been functional in the company since 2016 and have opted to raise legal dispute against the employer.
The class-action lawsuit was settled by Activision on the same day it was filed in 2021 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision (EEOC). The game developer has decided to settle these disputes with employees who have filed claims for constructive discharge, retaliation, pregnancy discrimination, and sexual harassment.
According to Activision Blizzard, almost all of the allocated fund for the settlement, which was $18 million, has been distributed amongst the complainants. They have also stated that any leftover fund from this pool will be donated to Reboot Representation, a non-profit organization and coalition of tech companies aimed at doubling the number of black, Latina, and native American women receiving degrees in computing by 2025.
Activision Blizzard is also facing another lawsuit and investigation by California Civil Rights Department, under Fair employment and Housing Act. The company is trying to lower the number of claimants in this investigation, as the employees who have accepted the payment in EEOC settlement will not be able to assert their claims anymore in any other open or future investigations.
Along with various allegations that the company fosters a sexist work environment, Activision Blizzard is also under scrutiny for stifling employee efforts for unionization. This has resulted in more trouble for the video game developer, as they might be under the radar of National Labor Relations Board officials, who are most likely to file a complaint against them for illegal employee monitoring and threats of shutting down internal communications to avoid unionizing.
