Activision Blizzard’s failure to curb sexist and harassing conduct emboldened manager Miguel Vega to abuse, belittle and insult Ms. Doe by making comments to her about oral sex, masturbation and orgasms, threatening her job if she would not consent to sex, mocking her breasts, and commenting on other female employees ‘attractiveness. Mr. Vega also repeatedly threatened to expose a compromising photo of Ms. doe.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
An Activision Blizzard spokesman said in a statement to Polygon that the company \u201ctake[s] all employee concerns seriously.\u201d They continued:<\/p>\n
\nWhen the plaintiff reported her concerns, we immediately opened an investigation, and Mr. Vega was terminated within 10 days. We have no tolerance for this kind of misconduct.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Doe and others reportedly brought the outlined harassment to Activision Blizzard’s human resources department multiple times; Vega was fired in September 2021 after years of alleged sexual harassment and misconduct. Doe said the repeated, \u201cunwanted sexual advances\u201d impacted her job performance and left her \u201chumiliated, depressed and anxious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doe and her lawyers are looking for damages and lost pay to be determined through a trial, as well as an order requiring Activision Blizzard to drop its arbitration policies for sexual harassment and gender-discrimination claims.<\/p>\n
Activision Blizzard has faced a number of sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits following a suit by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) in July 2021. The DFEH lawsuit names CEO Bobby Kotick and several other executives as knowing of and enabling this misconduct. A Wall Journal report from November described those Street Journal in detail, reporting that Kotick knew of rape. at the company and kept them quiet. A lawsuit led by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was settled for $18 million in 2021.<\/p>\n
In a second statement, the Activision Blizzard spokesman said the company has \u201cvigorously denied the [DFEH] we are.\u201d They continued:<\/p>\n
\nNo court has ever found the DFEH’s to be true.<\/em> The DFEH filed its own without completing its investigation and failed to follow its own investigative requirements and conciliation procedures. The Company has vigorously denied the workplace and its commitment has always been inclusive and safe.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nWorkers at the company have pushed back, leading to multiple walkouts and calls for Kotick to resign. With the last walkout in July 2022, workers pushed for Activision Blizzard to \u201cend gender inequity at the company.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond these arguments, Activision Blizzard and Microsoft are still hoping to convince government regulators that its $68.7 billion merger deal is not anti-competitive.<\/p>\n
Update: <\/strong>This story has been updated to include statements from an Activision Blizzard spokesperson.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n