State of California Expands Lawsuit Against Activision Blizzard. The state also accuses the game company, publisher of Call of Duty, of destroying evidence.
Discrimination lawsuit against game publisher Activision Blizzard is expanding. That writes tech site Axios. A month ago, the California labour regulator sued the company for extensive discrimination and a culture of bullying and abuse against female employees. That lawsuit is now being expanded to include the treatment of employees on temporary contracts.
In the renewed indictment, the government writes that Activision Blizzard did not cooperate well with the investigation. For example, the company would use nondisclosure clauses to ensure that employees first have to go to their board with their reports before talking to the labour regulator.
Also, the use of consultancy firm WilmerHale, best known for its union-breaking services, is seen by California as a sign that the company is trying to obstruct the investigation. Finally, the state accuses Activision Blizzard of destroying evidence. It allegedly asked Human Resources employees to remove documents that the company is required by law to keep for investigations like this.
An Activision Blizzard spokesperson denies the allegations, saying in a statement that the company is fully cooperating with the investigation and has taken a series of measures to improve working conditions.
Among other things, a whole series of managers were fired, and there would be more transparent communication about wages. The company denies that any documents were destroyed. However, since the announcement of the investigation, many company employees have spoken out against working conditions and organised a protest march.
