American gaming giant Activision Blizzard, the name behind mega-brands the likes of "Call of Duty," "Guitar Hero," "World of Warcraft," and "Candy Crush Saga," is facing massive backlash over claims female employees have been allegedly subjected to gross sexual harassment and discrimination.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
US media reported over the weekend that the State of California has sued Activision Blizzard over what it alleges was an abusive corporate culture that created "a breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women."
The lawsuit, filed by the State's Department of Fair Employment and Housing list disturbing allegations of "constant sexual harassment" mainly by publishing studio Blizzard Entertainment. According to The Guardian, legal action was taken following a two-year investigation into the company "revealed discrimination against women generally and pregnant employees, sexual harassment, retaliation, and unequal pay."
EuroGamer website said that Blizzard president J. Allen Brack was named as allegedly "being aware of and enabling" this conduct over time.
According to the lawsuit, female employees "almost universally confirmed that working for the defendants was akin to working in a frat house, which invariably involved male employees drinking and subjecting female employees to sexual harassment with no repercussion.
"Similarly, male employees would play video games during work, engage in banter about their sexual encounters, talk openly about female bodies, and make numerous jokes about rape," the lawsuit continued.
"As a product of this 'frat boy' culture, women were subjected to numerous sexual comments and advances, groping and unwanted physical touching, and other forms of harassment."
Authorities further detailed one highly disturbing claim in the lawsuit, alleging that one female employee committed suicide during a business trip "due to a sexual relationship that she had been having with her male supervisor."
According to the legal documents, the prosecution believes Brack and his HR executives were aware of employees' complaints, but "failed to take effective remedial measures in response. ... Employees were further discouraged from complaining as human resource personnel were known to be close to alleged harassers," the lawsuit continued.
In a lengthy statement to the media, Activision Blizzard called the lawsuit "irresponsible behavior from unaccountable State bureaucrats that are driving many of the State's best businesses out of California."
The company asserted that "We value diversity and strive to foster a workplace that offers inclusivity for everyone. There is no place in our company or industry, or any industry, for sexual misconduct or harassment of any kind. We take every allegation seriously and investigate all claims. In cases related to misconduct, action was taken to address the issue.
"The [filing by the] DFEH includes distorted, and in many cases false, descriptions of Blizzard's past. We have been extremely cooperative with the DFEH throughout their investigation, including providing them with extensive data and ample documentation, but they refused to inform us what issues they perceived.
"They were required by law to adequately investigate and to have good faith discussions with us to better understand and to resolve any claims or concerns before going to litigation, but they failed to do so. Instead, they rushed to file an inaccurate complaint, as we will demonstrate in court. We are sickened by the reprehensible conduct of the DFEH to drag into the complaint the tragic suicide of an employee whose passing has no bearing whatsoever on this case and with no regard for her grieving family.
"While we find this behavior to be disgraceful and unprofessional, it is, unfortunately, an example of how they have conducted themselves throughout the course of their investigation. It is this type of irresponsible behavior from unaccountable State bureaucrats that are driving many of the State's best businesses out of California.
"The picture the DFEH paints is not the Blizzard workplace of today. Over the past several years and continuing since the initial investigation started, we've made significant changes to address company culture and reflect more diversity within our leadership teams. We've amplified internal programs and channels for employees to report violations, including the 'ASK List' with a confidential integrity hotline, and introduced an Employee Relations team dedicated to investigating employee concerns. We have strengthened our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and combined our Employee Networks at a global level, to provide additional support. Employees must also undergo regular anti-harassment training and have done so for many years.
"We put tremendous effort in creating fair and rewarding compensation packages and policies that reflect our culture and business, and we strive to pay all employees fairly for equal or substantially similar work. We take a variety of proactive steps to ensure that pay is driven by non-discriminatory factors. For example, we reward and compensate employees based on their performance, and we conduct extensive anti-discrimination training including for those who are part of the compensation process.
"We are confident in our ability to demonstrate our practices as an equal opportunity employer that fosters a supportive, diverse, and inclusive workplace for our people, and we are committed to continuing this effort in the years to come. It is a shame that the DFEH did not want to engage with us on what they thought they were seeing in their investigation," the gaming giant's statement concluded.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
