The State of California's ongoing Activision Blizzard lawsuit has been revealing, detailing alleged workplace toxicity that cultivated a discriminatory environment across the company's studios. The lawsuit has led to employee walkouts and other forms of protest against the company, damaging the company's reputation. Now the scope of the lawsuit is growing, as new amendments have been added to the lawsuit filing, including an allegation that Activision Blizzard is interfering with the investigation itself.
According to a report from Axios, California's Department of Fair Employment & Housing filed the amended complaint on Monday, adding contract workers to the group that the DFEH is representing in the lawsuit. While it's a minor adjustment on a surface level, it could have serious ramifications for the company as the lawsuit presses on.
But the amendments don't end there. The DFEH has also accused Activision Blizzard of interfering with investigation efforts, allegedly by compelling employees to talk with Activision Blizzard before reaching out to the DFEH, and even going so far as to have documents related to the investigation shredded by the company's HR panel. The DFEH believes this to be in violation of the company's obligation to retain documents pertinent to the investigation.
The initial Activision Blizzard lawsuit was revealed in July, shedding light on alleged disturbing behavior from some of the company's employees. This disturbing behavior, overwhelmingly, was directed at women and minorities, and was seemingly overlooked – or outright ignored – by the company's HR departments. One incident specifically called out in the case was a "Cosby Suite" ran by employees during Blizzcon.
So far, Activision Blizzard has stumbled through the allegations, failing to address the situation properly. The company's initial response was highly criticized by games industry figures and fans, leading to Activision Blizzard releasing another statement on the matter, which called the first one "tone deaf." However, the company's actions since then have faced similar criticism, with Activision Blizzard even hiring a union-busting law firm following an employee walkout.
Activision Blizzard has been a bit more tempered in recent weeks, at least in regards to addressing the situation directly. During a recent earnings call, the lawsuit was barely addressed, with questions relating to the toxic workplace allegations largely being dodged by Activision Blizzard employees on the call. The lawsuit will undoubtedly stretch on, considering Activision Blizzard's size and resources, so it might be a while before anyone sees how the situation is resolved.
Source: Axios