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Activision Blizzard has reportedly entered into an agreement with the California Civil Rights Department to settle its 2021 case into the company’s alleged culture of sexual harassment. The initial allegations that the publisher “fostered a pervasive ‘frat boy’ workplace” and female employees were “subjected to constant sexual harassment.”
According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, the state agency withdrew its charges against the company. The settlement agreement between the California Civil Rights Department and Activision Blizzard stipulates that “no court or any independent investigation has substantiated any allegations” about “systemic or widespread sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard” nor “that Activision Blizzard senior executives ignored, condoned or tolerated a culture of systemic, harassment, retaliation or discrimination.” Additionally, the settlement also said that its investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing by Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, or its board.
Since the charges were filed, Activision Blizzard maintained its innocence. The company reportedly fired 37 employees in the months that followed. The company settled its Federal EEOC complaint in March 2022.
Earlier this year, Microsoft passed key regulatory hurdles in the U.S. and U.K. acquired the ABK in October. This deal was partially a result of the allegations of sexual harassment because the publisher’s stock price fell.
Per the agreement, Activision Blizzard will aside money — as much as $46.75 million — to pay women employees who said they had received inequitable pay from 2015-2020. The state’s expert witnesses testified that a gender pay gap existed overall, but a pay disparity was not found among employees of the same rank. The settlement agreement is expected to be filed in court early next week.
Riot Games faced a similar lawsuit from the California Civil Rights Department. The case settled for $100 million earlier this year. Of the sum, 80% went to over 1,500 women who worked with the company between 2014 and 2021.
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