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.”