The Activision Settlement Has Been Approved by Judge
Activision has gotten a win. No, it’s not about the Microsoft acquisition. There’s been word about one of the discrimination lawsuits that Activision has been facing.
An American judge, for the case with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (also known as the EEOC), has approved the $18 million dollar settlement with Activision Blizzard. District Judge Dale Fischer was the one who gave the approval on Tuesday, March 29, 2022. The hearing itself states (according to Washington Post) that “The Court is generally satisfied that both the monetary relief and the nonmonetary provisions are fair, reasonable and adequate.”
It seems that Activision Blizzard is pleased with this news. In a recent press release, Bobby Kotick stated, “Our goal is to make Activision Blizzard a model for the industry, and we will continue to focus on eliminating harassment and discrimination from our workplace. The court’s approval of this settlement is an important step in ensuring that our employees have mechanisms for recourse if they experienced any form of harassment or retaliation.”
While originally the settlement was supposed to be reviewed and agreed upon in September 2021, the Department For Employment and Housing brought up their own objections. Mostly, their case was that, well, this would bring harm to their own case against the gaming company. EEOC then decided to say that the other department had lawyers operating under ethics violations.
There was also an attempt to interfere by former Blizzard employee Jessica Gonzelez, but Gonzelez’s attempts have been dismissed.
The money from the settlement will not be given to slighted employees directly. Instead, EEOC will be directing the funds to first, harassment and discrimination prevention programs within Activision, and secondary to charities that focus on supporting women in the gaming industry and those that tackle gender inequality.
However, this is only the first of many discrimination lawsuits against Activision that need to be tackled. And according to Fahizah Alim, a spokesperson for the Department For Employment and Housing, the department “will continue to vigorously prosecute its action against Activision.”
The current trial date for the Department’s suit is set for next year, in February 2023.