Image Source: Visual China

BEIJING, March 30 (TMTPOST) — A California judge says she will approve the US$18 million settlement between video game giant Activision Blizzard and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a sexual harassment case.

"Our goal is to make Activision Blizzard a model for the industry, and we will continue to focus on eliminating harassment and discrimination from our workplace," said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick in a statement. "The court's approval of this settlement is an important step in ensuring that our employees have mechanisms for recourse if they experienced any form of harassment or retaliation."

The EEOC is a federal agency established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. It sued Activision Blizzard for gender discrimination, sexual harassment and workplace discrimination in September last year.

Activision Blizzard said that it would set up a US$18 million foundation to compensate workers affected by gender discrimination and sexual harassment at the workplace the day the lawsuit was filed.

The video game giant said that the foundation will provide compensation for employees who have worked at the company starting from September 1, 2016. Former and current employees who were affected by sexual harassment, workplace revenge and pregnancy discrimination can ask for compensation from the foundation.

Microsoft announced its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard at US$68.7 billion earlier this year. But federal agencies then enhanced their scrutiny against the company’s sexual harassment and gender discrimination case after the acquisition plan was announced.

The acquisition deal is still facing obstacles even after the court has approved of the settlement. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is also investigating the sexual harassment and gender discrimination cases, as well as the fraternity culture at Activision Blizzard. The DFEH had already sued the company once in July, 2021, for failing to handle sexual harassment and gender discrimination cases brought up by its female employees.