Next month will mark a year since the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, or DFEH, announced it was pursuing legal action against gaming publisherActivision Blizzard, revealing the company’s alleged history of sexual harassment and abuse towards its employees, while accusing those in positions of power of enabling a “frat boy” environment. Since the news first broke of thelawsuit against Activision Blizzard, the gaming community has seen plenty of developments in the situation as it has unfolded.From Microsoft intending to buy the publisher to new legal cases popping up against Activision Blizzard, even nearly a year after the news first broke, it seems that the legal troubles for the company are far from over. Some of these lawsuits are being settled out of court, such as one case by theEqual Employment Opportunity Commission which was settled with Activision Blizzard for $18 million. Others, however, are continuing, such as the original DFEH lawsuit.RELATED:Parents of Suicide Victim Ask for Activision Blizzard Lawsuit to Be DismissedOutside the courtroom, Activision Blizzard’s shareholders are attempting to gain information on the company’s harassment cases moving forward. Voting against the board’s wishes, the shareholders approved a proposal that will require greater transparency fromActivision Blizzardregarding its harassment claims and pay. This will mean that Activision Blizzard will now need to report details like the total number of settled disputes related to sexual abuse and harassment, how much progress it is making in reducing the time taken to resolve these disputes, how many pending complaints it has, alongside consolidated data for pay and hours worked.
As well as voting for greater transparency from Activision Blizzard, the shareholders also made a decision against allowing an employee representative be added to the company’s board of directors. This proposed addition was considered by a labor union as a step towardsrestoring the trust in Activision Blizzard, something that the company has been aiming to do since news first broke around its ongoing harassment and abuse claims. However, with fan, employee, and shareholder faith to restore, many believe it will take a significant amount of time and effort before Activision Blizzard gets that trust back.
This isn’t the first time the publisher has had an issue with its shareholders. Previously,Activision Blizzard’s shareholders had attempted to sue the company, claiming that it could have informed them about the DFEH’s reports before they were released. However, a judge dismissed this case in court earlier this year, stating the belief that Activision Blizzard would have essentially been unable to predict or warn shareholders about a steep drop in its share price.
