San Francisco, Dec 16 (IANS): A US regulator has reached a $54 million settlement to resolve allegations that gaming company Activision Blizzard discriminated against women at the company, including by denying promotion opportunities and paying them less than men for doing substantially similar work.
The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) reached a settlement agreement with Activision Blizzard, it said in a statement.
Under the agreement, subject to court approval, Activision Blizzard will take additional steps to help ensure fair pay and promotion practices at the company and provide monetary relief to women who were employees or contract workers in California between October 12, 2015 and December 31, 2020.
"California remains deeply committed to promoting and enforcing the civil rights of women in the workplace," said CRD Director Kevin Kish.
"If approved by the court, this settlement agreement represents a major step forward and will bring direct relief to Activision Blizzard workers. At the California Civil Rights Department, we will continue to do our part to fight for the rights of our state's residents," Kish said in a statement.
After more than two years of investigation, CRD filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard in 2021 for alleged violations of California's Equal Pay Act and Fair Employment and Housing Act. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard is a video game company known for many popular video game franchises played around the world, including "Call of Duty", "World of Warcraft", "Guitar Hero", and "Diablo".
The announcement is in addition to measures Activision Blizzard has implemented through a separate 2021 consent decree with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other proactive recruitment and retention steps.
In 2022, a judge approved Activision Blizzard’s $18 million settlement with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over a separate lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and discrimination at the company.
In October this year, Microsoft closed the $68.7 billion transaction to acquire gaming giant Activision Blizzard, saying they affirm the commitment to labour principles and innovative approach to union partnerships.