Leaf&Core

Blizzard Pays Out One of Many Lawsuits. It’s Not Enough.

Danielle from Leaf and Core
Reading Time: 4 minutes.

Activision Blizzard on a blue backgroundActivision Blizzard, often just called Blizzard as the problems largely stemmed from that side of the company, is in legal hot water. The company had a widely-known problem with sexism, harassment, and a toxic workplace so bad that it may have been the driving factor for an employee’s suicide. She may have been a victim of revenge porn, as nude photos of her were shared at a holiday party. The company is facing lawsuits from numerous regulation committees as well as employees, who claim the company is currently violating federal labor law.

Recently, Activision Blizzard settled one of those suits. They agreed to pay out $18 million for their victims. While the number may sound large, it’s not nearly enough.This is a company that makes billions of dollars every year. In fact, in 2020, Blizzard made over 8 billion dollars. In the fourth quarter alone, that was 2.4 billion. $18 million is nothing. It’s a fraction of CEO Bobby Kotick’s $154 million annual salary. To Activision Blizzard, this is pocket change. It’s certainly not enough for employees who lost their jobs due to discrimination and harassment either.

So far, Activision Blizzard is getting away with their crimes. If the penalty for the crime is a gentle slap on the wrist, there’s no incentive to stop it from happening again. According to Activision Blizzard employees, things aren’t getting better at the company, they’re getting worse.

Blizzard’s Settled Lawsuit

Blizzard settled one of their lawsuits with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC lawsuit was based largely on gender-based discrimination and harassment, on three points:

“1. Subjecting female employees to sex-based discrimination, including harassment, based on their gender. 2. Retaliating against female employees for complaining about sex-based discrimination, based on their gender. 3. Paying female employees less than male employees, based on their gender.”

The $18 million isn’t a fine, but will instead go towards a fund for the employees Blizzard hurt. How much of that will go to the family who lost a loved one, likely due to the harassment she faced at Blizzard? How much will go to all of the other women who had their dreams of working in gaming crushed? Those who were fired and had to make due until they could find a new job? If every employee effected claims only $200,000, a solid, if not overly conservative, estimate for a year of salary, healthcare, stock value, and other benefits, then only 90 employees could claim what they’re due.

In 2020, Activision Blizzard employed 9,500 people. The lawsuit claims 20% are women or non-binary. That’s 1,900 employees, and only including current employees. Past employees, those who lost their jobs or left due to harassment, are also part of this lawsuit. If only current employees claimed what they’re owed from this settlement, it would just be $9,473.68. The actual amount each employee will get could be less. They should be owed far more. If Blizzard paid each party out about the amount of just one year’s salary and benefits, they’d owe over $380 million, still just a fraction of their quarterly revenue.

Activision Blizzard’s settlement is about 11% of the CEO’s yearly salary. It’s about 0.22% of their 2020 earnings.

This is a joke, not a fair settlement. It’s an insult to Activision Blizzard’s victims. A judge still has to approve the settlement. If they do, Blizzard will have escaped one lawsuit virtually unscathed, and their victims won’t get what they deserve.

Blizzards Other Lawsuits (And Potential New Ones)

There are two other lawsuits against Blizzard. The first one broke the story this year, California’s Department of Fair Employment in Housing (CA DFEH). That’s still ongoing, and has been since July. The one that Blizzard is attempting to settle for a pittance was from the EEOC, and that was first brought against the company in 2018. In September, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) also sued. This one is related to efforts from Activision Blizzard allegedly to shut down further organizing efforts. Stopping employees from organizing and protesting is against U.S. labor laws.

Employees of Blizzard have staged walkouts (in person and virtually), and have attempted to further organize to request policy and personnel changes to reflect employees’ needs. Rather than view the two labor lawsuits brought against them already as an opportunity for change and improvement, Activision Blizzard is allegedly trying to bury the lawsuits and move on without improving anything. They’re reportedly using “coercive tactics” to prevent employees from organizing, discussing wages, or speaking out, all against federal labor laws. They claim workers are being forced into arbitration, instead of being able to sue, and the company is preventing them from working together.

If workers, through this third lawsuit, are able to end forced arbitration and open up lawsuits to collective bargaining, they could potentially sue Blizzard as individuals or through a class-action lawsuit. Blizzard’s legal woes have just begun. However, if history is any indicator, they won’t be enough to force change or give victims what they’re truly owed.

Make Them Hurt

This is wrong. Companies shouldn’t be able to get away with ignoring and even fostering so many problems over the years. They cost people their careers, mental health, and even one woman’s life. Instead of owing the billions they should, the company instead is, so far, paying out less than they do their CEO, by a gigantic margin. Companies should face fines based in payout to individuals, multiplied by the suspected number of victims, along with a large margin for error. Furthermore, they should face fines that can go to victim advocacy groups and fund government agencies looking to force change in companies. Punitive damages should be based on a percentage of revenue, not arbitrary amounts. Finally, those involved who were aware of criminal actions and in positions of power to commit to change should be held personally reliable, potentially with fines or even jail time.

Yes, seriously. Someone at Blizzard died, allegedly due to this harassment. That’s criminal negligence resulting in death. Why should the fact that it’s a business change the punishments for the severe nature of those crimes? If a CEO sees jail time in their future, not just a slap on the wrist and a move to a new company to continue making the same fortune, then they’ll actually push for change when problems arise.

Boycotts

As for other companies, they should boycott Activision Blizzard. Don’t let them publish or make your games. Don’t provide them with infrastructure or services. If you do want to do business with the company, follow the lead of one pentesting company, who charged Blizzard a “misogyny tax.”

As for us, we can continue boycotting Activision Blizzard games. The list is long, but even reducing sales slightly is enough to put a larger dent into Activision Blizzard’s revenue than the government agencies who are supposed to hold companies accountable have done. We can push for change, we don’t have to wait on others to do it for us.

Games and Studios to Avoid

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