A few weeks ago, the lawsuits filed against Activision Blizzard collided, as the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's lawsuit and the California state Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s lawsuit opened fire on one another. Caught in that crossfire, Activision’s request to temporarily suspend investigations into its own dirty laundry were denied, setting the stage for a legal cage match between the three organizations.
The DFEH’s lawsuit against Activision Blizzard filed back in July focused on the sexual harassment, discrimination, and unfair working conditions seen at the company. The EEOC’s lawsuit against Activision came at the end of September, and was settled the same day it went public with $18 million and promises to fix damages caused by the discrimination.
The DFEH didn’t like the EEOC’s rapid settlement with Activision Blizzard, so it filed an expedited intervention against the EEOC settlement, claiming it would harm the DFEH’s existing case against Activision. The EEOC fired back, filing an opposition on the grounds that two of the DFEH’s attorneys had worked on the EEOC’s own investigations into Activision: a violation of the California Rules of Professional Conduct.
As the two organizations butted heads, Activision Blizzard filed an expedited motion to pause the DFEH’s case while the conflict of interest was being investigated. The expedited decisions of both Activision, to pause the DFEH’s lawsuit, and of the DFEH, to intervene in the EEOC’s settlement, were denied. This means that, while decisions on these motions will not be made immediately, further investigations and decisions can occur for all of them.
This has created a legal quagmire, with Activision Blizzard trying to cripple the DFEH’s lawsuit by pursuing the conflict of interest revealed by the EEOC, the DFEH continuing its investigations of Activision Blizzard and trying to dismantle the EEOC’s settlement, and the federal EEOC strongarming the state-level DFEH to prevent it from interfering with its victory against Activision Blizzard.
Right now, the EEOC has the most power in this complex situation. It has already reached a settlement with Activision Blizzard worth $18 million dollars, with the promise of reform on a company-wide level, the results of which have already been seen across its games via changed names and details promised in the press release shared by Activision Blizzard at the end of last month. With nothing to prove, the EEOC only has to defend itself.
However, the DFEH’s pursuit of justice for the victims of its lawsuit won’t be slaked by a measly $18 million–pennies for multi-billion dollar Activision. The EEOC’s punishment was to the extent of federal law, but the DFEH’s state-level lawsuit aims to deal more damage to Activision Blizzard. Unfortunately, the EEOC’s lawsuit, which has more authority as a federal organization and is already settled, will make the DFEH’s case harder, especially with a conflict of interest to explain. If things go poorly, the DFEH’s case could be dismissed, leaving the EEOC’s meager victory as the only justice for victims of Activision Blizzard.
Activision has yet to address other lawsuits filed against it, such as the one by employees of Blizzard, whose demands have not been met in spite of protests.
Source: Wowhead