The Activision Blizzard company was going through dark times. Responding in court for sexual harassment, working conditions and the like. Something that led the bank to get a bad reputation, and perhaps influencing the sale of the company to Microsoft. But, it seems that this fight in justice is coming to an end, after a millionaire deal.
US District Judge Dale Fischer approved a relief settlement of US $ 18 million with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This deal comes months after Activision Blizzard originally agreed to strike a deal with the EEOC on September 27, 2021. But those trying to hold the game's publisher accountable are divided over how much of a win this will be for victims of the frat culture. boy” by Activision Blizzard.
During the conciliation hearing, an attorney acting on behalf of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) came to argue. He mentioned that the EEOC motion to proceed with the agreement, where it violated states' rights to their own jurisdiction. He stated that the EEOC's intervention was due to the severity of Activision Blizzard's breach and not due to normal legal process.
Activision Blizzard at the end of the line with lawsuit and monetary loss.
THE EEOC argued that the DFEH had months to make the federalism argument, but chose to address it at the “eleventh hour”.
” The DFEH was accused of hampering and delaying the settlement process while Activision Blizzard was cooperating with the federal government. The exasperated judge reiterated that the DFEH's argument was “untimely” and that anyone who disagreed with the agreement could take it to the ninth circuit court.
According to the Washington Post, the settlement could prevent the DFEH, which is also suing Activision Blizzard, from seeking further monetary damages. That is, meaning that the agreement could be a loss both for the DFEH case, and for the victims of sexual harassment by the company. This is because the state agency has historically been more aggressive than federal lawsuits such as the EEOC.
The difficulties of the judgment of the DFEH
O DFEH is filing its own lawsuit against the Call of Duty publisher, but the organizations claimed the EEOC settlement contains a clause that allows Activision Blizzard to remove allegations of sexual harassment from the settlement plaintiffs' files, making it difficult for the DFEH to adjudicate. The EEOC's opposition, filed March 24, disputes that the consent decree does not require or authorize the destruction of these documents. The deal also allows the publisher to use unclaimed funds for its own women's charity funds. DFEH fears that control over some of the money could return to the company the deal is intended to punish.
The original process was retained by the DFEH, which last October filed a request for intervention. However, that October filing allowed the EEOC to respond with its own opposition, which claimed that DFEH lawyers were under ethical violations.
Last October, Communications Workers of America also filed an objection against the then possible agreement with the EEOC. In the union's opinion, US$ 18 million (or US$ 450 per claimant) is a drop in the bucket for Activision Blizzard, which paid its CEO Bobby Kotick US$ 150 million in 2020. In fact, leaving Activision Blizzard will give Kotick a payout. of $ 390 million dollars. Which is a huge amount of money for the man who received a vote of no confidence from 1,200 employees.
That said, the DFEH process will still take some time to finalize, where it is currently set for February 27, 2023.
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