Yesterday, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) filed a motion to intervene in a potential settlement between the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Activision Blizzard. The motion argues that the DFEH’s own trial against Activision Blizzard will be irreparably damaged by the conditions of said settlement. The settlement includes a clause which requests that Activision Blizzard be able to remove any allegations of sexual harassment from the personnel files of settlement claimants, effectively destroying evidence that is essential to the DFEH’s own trial.
The DFEH met with both Activision Blizzard and the EEOC on the 5th of October to inform both parties of its plan to intervene. Normally, it would have to wait seven days before filing its intervention. Instead, due to the grave harm the DFEH sees in a potential settlement, it has filed the motion ex parte, which allows it to be filed instantly if the court finds it reasonable. The DFEH justifies this ex parte request by citing the settlement clause that would allow Activision Blizzard to scrub the sexual harassment allegations.
This would not be the first time Activision Blizzard has supposedly done so either. Two months ago, the DFEH accused Activision Blizzard of shredding evidence that could reflect on the company poorly during its case. This, coupled with Activision Blizzard’s recent decision to hire a union-busting firm, does not reflect well on the company’s previous claims to Kotaku that it is being totally co-operative with the DFEH’s investigation.
Kotaku reached out to the DFEH and Activision Blizzard, but neither party responded by time of publication.
Good to know there was never a shred of good faith on Blizzard's part. After being caught shredding evidence once, they're going to try to just do it again, but even sneakier and legally binding this time. Fuck them.
The long and short is that the DFEH case has been led by two lawyers that previously worked for the EEOC, and while working for the EEOC they investigated Activision Blizzard in relation to the claims that have led to the settlement. The settlement that they are now objecting to.
If true this would be a conflict of interest, a breach of professional ethics, and a violation of Californian law on the conduct of attorneys. Per the memorandum:
"Specifically, two DFEH attorneys—who play leadership roles within the organization—previously served as EEOC who helped to direct the EEOC's investigation into Commissioner's Charge No. 480-2018-05212 against Activision Blizzard, Inc. These same attorneys then proceeded to represent DFEH in connection with these intervention proceedings, which seek to oppose the consent decree that arose out of the very investigation they helped to direct while at the EEOC."
This is a breach of the California Rule of Professional Conduct, and the EEOC claims it applies to all of the DFEH's attorneys on the case. Making matters worse is that the DFEH seems to have belatedly realised this itself, and tried to fudge its way out in some unconvincing ways. The EEOC's memorandum claims that it basically hired new lawyers then, a few hours later, served an appeal that clearly must have had involvement from the two lawyers in question.
"After being informed of this conflict, DFEH retained new counsel but appears to have filed the present intervention motion just hours after this counsel was retained, strongly suggesting that the motion is a product of the prohibited representation. For this reason, the intervention motion should be disallowed and DFEH attorneys should be barred from providing work product to, or advising, new counsel in connection with these intervention proceedings."
The two lawyers in question had been directly confronted by the EEOC about this conflict of interest prior to these latest legal documents. When this happened, the lawyers simply left the call: " DFEH Attorney 2 began to speak regarding the merits of the intervention motion, but Ms. Park reiterated EEOC's objections regarding the conflict-of-interest rules [...] After EEOC counsel continued to voice objections to discussing the merits of the case with DFEH attorneys, Ms. Wipper and DFEH Attorneys 1 and 2 disconnected from the call."
On October 12 2021 06:47 Zambrah wrote: Any lawyers know if this basically means ActiBlizz is now basically off the hook for it’s awful mistreatment of employees?
Cause I’m getting tired of bad people getting away with shit.
That seems to be a core tenet of the US "justice" system. The results are often apparently not causally related to what happened or what people did, but instead more about some weird technicalities and who spends more money on lawyers.
On October 12 2021 06:47 Zambrah wrote: Any lawyers know if this basically means ActiBlizz is now basically off the hook for it’s awful mistreatment of employees?
Cause I’m getting tired of bad people getting away with shit.
Pretty sure "being on the hook" was never in the cards to begin with. That's not how the justice system works in America. As a big corporation, you have all the rights of regular people, but none of the consequences
@17:24 "it also calls into question the integrity of the underlying investigation itself"
To put this in Starcraft terms Bobby Kotick just said : "you call down the thunder ... and i'll reap the whirlwind".
Activision admitted to no wrong doing in their settlement with the EEOC. The DFEH has a giant mountain of very sophisticated allegations to prove. ATVI MIGHT admit to specific mistakes by certain, individual employees. However, ATVI is a long way off from admitting to systemic problems.
Good luck to the DFEH in getting ATVI to admit to systemic problems.
On October 12 2021 06:47 Zambrah wrote: Any lawyers know if this basically means ActiBlizz is now basically off the hook for it’s awful mistreatment of employees? Cause I’m getting tired of bad people getting away with shit.
this is nothing new dawg. its par for the course in the USA since 1776. Blackstone's ratio was exaggerated 10 fold by founding father Ben Franklin. Franklin's world view creates a lawless frontier where only the most productive survive.
On October 12 2021 06:47 Zambrah wrote: Any lawyers know if this basically means ActiBlizz is now basically off the hook for it’s awful mistreatment of employees? Cause I’m getting tired of bad people getting away with shit.
That seems to be a core tenet of the US "justice" system. The results are often apparently not causally related to what happened or what people did, but instead more about some weird technicalities and who spends more money on lawyers.
if the EEOC's allegations are correct i would not characterize the DFEH's actions as violating a "weird technicality". It could well be the former EEOC lawyers had some axe to grind with their former employer. Either way, these DFEH lawyers should not be working on the same case with a different agency without the EEOC's express written consent. They took with them all kinds of privileged and confidential info.
It took the EEOC and DFEH 1.5 years to divide up the work and create a workshare agreement. This thing has been a a clusterfuck for years now. Its well within the realm of possibility that ATVI knew the EEOC and DFEH have been infighting for a long time.
Thank goodness Jimmy's back to explain to us how America works, and how it would be shitty that Activision Blizzard abuses their employees, except that billionaires are just so damn cool. How were we getting by before?
On October 20 2021 11:44 NewSunshine wrote: Thank goodness Jimmy's back to explain to us how America works, and how it would be shitty that Activision Blizzard abuses their employees, except that billionaires are just so damn cool. How were we getting by before?
Long overdue tbh, I've been waiting a month for his commentary.
On October 12 2021 06:47 Zambrah wrote: Any lawyers know if this basically means ActiBlizz is now basically off the hook for it’s awful mistreatment of employees?
Cause I’m getting tired of bad people getting away with shit.
Pretty sure "being on the hook" was never in the cards to begin with. That's not how the justice system works in America. As a big corporation, you have all the rights of regular people, but none of the consequences
I watched the Viritual Legality video, and I can certainly understand why some of those lawyers make millions, even though I also got a bad taste in my mouth. It is hard to grasp that how information came about can be considered much more important than what is true and really happened.
I would not say they face "none of the consequences". The bad international press and damaged reputation for the company where big hits, probably much worse than losing a low-profile lawsuit in court. This will not be forgotten quickly. They also had to pay a generous settlement, which had the intention to quickly enable both parties put this behind them.
If this case fizzles out now, I believe it can still make it easier for women to work in tech companies in the future.
On October 21 2021 05:43 Slydie wrote: If this case fizzles out now, I believe it can still make it easier for women to work in tech companies in the future.
I really wished I could share your enthusiasm, but considering none of the people who are in a position to do anything got even as much as a smack on the wrist, my doubts are higher
On October 21 2021 05:43 Slydie wrote: If this case fizzles out now, I believe it can still make it easier for women to work in tech companies in the future.
I really wished I could share your enthusiasm, but considering none of the people who are in a position to do anything got even as much as a smack on the wrist, my doubts are higher
Do we even know what was done internally? The company would certainly keep this under the radar, but that does not mean they did nothing. This case has been very damaging for the company, and other companies watching should take notice.
They've fired some people, but none of the people seem to have been c-suite types.
Aka the people paid absurdly grotesquely inflated salaries because they're supposed to have so much responsibility. Except for the responsibility for knowing whats going on in their company apparently.
Bobby Kotick and that strata of "leadership," if it can be even called that, needs the same purge that Blizzard leadership got, there is no excuse for them to do otherwise that isn't rooted in rich people refusing to accept consequences for their own negligence or worse.
On October 21 2021 05:43 Slydie wrote: If this case fizzles out now, I believe it can still make it easier for women to work in tech companies in the future.
I really wished I could share your enthusiasm, but considering none of the people who are in a position to do anything got even as much as a smack on the wrist, my doubts are higher
Do we even know what was done internally? The company would certainly keep this under the radar, but that does not mean they did nothing. This case has been very damaging for the company, and other companies watching should take notice.
Bobby Kotick is still CEO. Aka; nothing of importance was done.
Activision Blizzard Inc. Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick has asked the video game publisher’s board to cut his total compensation to $62,500, following an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment.
Kotick received $154.6 million last year, mostly in the form of stock awards, in a controversial pay package that faced opposition by a number of investor groups.
The announcement comes after the company failed to convince a California court on Friday to temporarily halt an ongoing sexual harassment and discrimination case. California’s civil rights agency sued the maker of “Call of Duty” in July, accusing it of fostering a “frat boy” culture.
Activision denied some claims while taking steps to punish those accused. It recently ousted 20 employees, it said, and called off an event for its biggest annual convention in February.
“The guardrails weren’t in place everywhere to ensure that our values were being upheld,” Kotick said in a letter to employees dated Oct. 28. “In some cases, people didn’t consistently feel comfortable reporting concerns, or their concerns weren’t always addressed promptly or properly. People were deeply let down and, for that, I am truly sorry.”
Kotick’s pay package ballooned in 2020, largely due to stock awards of nearly $150 million. It climbed more than 400% from $30.1 million in 2019. His new package will be a 99.96% pay cut.
Kotick’s new pay would now receive is the lowest amount California law will allow for people earning a salary, according to a statement Thursday. He has also asked not to receive any bonuses or equity.
The company will increase the percentage of women and non-binary people in its workforce by 50% and invest $250 million to accelerate opportunities for diverse talent, it said in the statement.
Kotick said he’ll launch a zero-tolerance harassment policy, and take steps to increase visibility on pay equity and waive required arbitration of sexual harassment and discrimination claims.
Well. I know better than to assume this turns out to be genuine accountability, but it kinda looks like it if I squint. And face the other way. Even so, I can't remember if I've ever heard of a CEO willingly giving up all their pay like this. Not that he needs it though. I'm more keen on seeing if new policies, enforcement, and culture begin to emerge. This is a whisper of a start.
EPT
