Judge approves $18 million settlement in Activision Blizzard discrimination lawsuit

Over the last year or so, Activision Blizzard has been hammered with multiple lawsuits, all alleging harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Two of these lawsuits were filed by US government agencies – the EEOC and DFEH. While the latter is still on-going, the former will soon be settled. 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will be settling with Activision Blizzard, after a judge approved the company's $18 million settlement offer this week. The settlement will allow all current and former Activision Blizzard employees (from September 2016 to present day) to submit a claim relating to harassment or discrimination within the work place. Claims considered eligible will be given a piece of the settlement money.

This is the second largest settlement the EEOC has agreed to, but there are some that believe the settlement is too low. the Department of Fair Employement & Housing (DFEH), is concerned that this settlement may have an impact on its own case against Activision Blizzard. As pointed out by VGC, DFEH is being more aggressive in its demands for compensation to settle the case.

Currently, the DFEH VS Activision Blizzard lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in February 2023, assuming a settlement agreement is not reached before then. Given that Activision Blizzard is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft, it will be keen to squash on-going legal troubles before ownership changes hands.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Considering the fact that Riot Games recently paid $100 million to settle a similar discrimination and harassment case, DFEH is probably right to think that Activision Blizzard should be paying more than $18 million.

Become a Patron!