EEOC Accepting Claims From Current And Former Activision Blizzard Employees Regarding $18 Million Settlement

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is now accepting claims from current and former US employees of publishing giant Activision Blizzard. The claims process relates to the $18 million settlement between Activision Blizzard and the EEOC. Past and present employees that experienced sexual harassment or gender discrimination working at the publisher from September 1, 2016 to March 29, 2022 can file and get awarded.

The game industry and its fans are definitely familiar with the Activision Blizzard lawsuit debacle by this point, and today begins a claim process that could award a victim of the publisher's office culture the ability to request specific non-monetary awards from Activision Blizzard and the EEOC.

It's easy to speculate that many workers may jump on this, but there is a strained relationship between past and present employees and the EEOC because of the measly $18 million settlement agreement back in March. Many saw it as a slap on the wrist that didn't even dent the massive coffers of Activision Blizzard. One of them is former employee Jessica Gonzalez who is appealing the settlement, stating that it was insufficient and didn't accurately capture the scale of victims who may come forward.

But what's worrying about this claim process is that any employee who files a claim won't be able to contribute to future litigations against Activision Blizzard, which includes the California Fair Employment Agency's ongoing lawsuit. Several victims may withhold filing for an award because of that pending lawsuit, which may or may not pull through and give them the justice they need.

Note: Activision Blizzard is still under investigation by the state of California for serious harassment charges. CEO Bobby Kotick is alleged to have known about such actions within his company – and performed some himself – and shielded the perpetrators from consequences.