California updates Activision Blizzard harassment lawsuit, claiming company is ‘shredding’ documents
The California State Government’s DFEH has updated its lawsuit against Activision Blizzard to now include temp-workers’ experience, and also state that the company’s HR is not properly keeping records for their investigation.
First reported by Axios, in an updated filing, the DFEH claims that Activision Blizzard’s HR team is not saving records related to the investigation, which is impeding their ability to move forward.
The initial lawsuit, which was filed on July 21, claimed numerous cases of harassment, inequality, and more took place at Blizzard’s side of Activision Blizzard.
The DFEH states that the company has a policy of “shredding” documents of employees who’ve left the company within 30 days.
The California government requires employers to keep records for up to 2 years. It says, “documents related to investigations and complaints were shredded by human resource personnel.”
Further, the government claims that Activision Blizzard has required employees to sign NDAs, speak internally before contacting the DFEH which is impeding their investigation.
The updated lawsuit also claims that Activision Blizzard adding in a review of the company via WilmerHale law group has further caused issues.
The updated lawsuit claim that these actions “directly interfere” with their ability to “investigate, prosecute, and remedy workplace discrimination and harassment violations on behalf of employees and contingent or temporary workers.”
The new filing also added in mentions that experiences of harassment and inequality “exist for employees and contingent or temporary workers.” The initial lawsuit only covered full time employees.
Following this lawsuit’s update being surfaced, Activision Blizzard responded with a lengthy statement, one that differs in tone from their original attack on the DFEH.
The company claims that they have “complied with every proper request in support” of the DFEH’s review.
Their full statement is below:
“Throughout our engagement with the DFEH, we have complied with every proper request in support of its review even as we had been implementing reforms to ensure our workplaces are welcoming and safe for every employee. Those changes continue today, and include:
- Several high-level personnel changes;
- Revamped hiring and recruiting practices requiring diverse interview panels;
- Greater transparency on pay equity;
- Expanded and improved training and investigative capabilities for human resource and compliance staff;
- Created investigation teams outside of business units to support greater independence;
- Restructured divisions to support greater accountability;
- Enhanced review processes to include evaluation of managers by employees;
- Clear boundaries on workplace behavior with a zero-tolerance approach to harassment and other actions that diminish or marginalize.
We strive to be a company that recognizes and celebrates the diverse talents and perspectives that lead to the creation of great, globally appealing entertainment.
We have provided the DFEH with clear evidence that we do not have gender pay or promotion disparities. Our senior leadership is increasingly diverse, with a growing number of women in key leadership roles across the company.
We share DFEH’s goal of a safe, inclusive workplace that rewards employees equitably and are committed to setting an example that others can follow.”
As more information arises on the lawsuit situation, we’ll keep everyone updated.