Court "Prepared to Approve" Activision Blizzard Lawsuit Settlement

Activision Blizzard may be nearing a settlement in the sexual discrimination lawsuit filed against it by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Washington Post (may require registration or subscription) says a new court filing indicates a district court judge is "prepared to approve" an $18 million settlement. This settlement proposal was revealed when we first learned about this lawsuit in September. It was met with an objection from California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which is also suing Activision Blizzard over sexual harassment and discrimination. Word is: "The Court is generally satisfied that both the monetary relief and the nonmonetary provisions are fair, reasonable, and adequate," the filing states, calling opposition evidence "speculative." Here's more on the disagreement between the two agencies involved in these cases:
The EEOC, a federal agency, and the DFEH, a state agency, share jurisdiction over workplace sexual harassment cases, and both agencies received anonymous tips in 2018 to investigate Activision Blizzard. The two agencies became embroiled in a disagreement with how much victims should be paid in the settlement, and concerns that if the EEOC were to settle with Activision Blizzard on a federal level, it could bar the DFEH from pursuing further damages at the state court level.

“The DFEH will continue to vigorously prosecute its action against Activision in California state court," DFEH spokesperson Fahizah Alim said in a statement. "In recent weeks, DFEH defeated Activision’s request that the Court dismiss DFEH’s case, and DFEH has sought documents and other evidence of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation violations over many years by Activision. The Court has set a trial date in February 2023.”