Activision Blizzard's lawsuit might be making most of the headlines recently, but a very similar suit was brought against Riot Games for the exact sort of gender discrimination and sexual harassment that is allegedly occurring at Blizzard.
California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) began investigating Riot Games for unfair workplace practices, gender discrimination, and harassment back in 2018, culminating in a class-action lawsuit where former and current employees sued Riot. A settlement was reached in August 2019 for $10 million, however, the DFEH is saying the terms of that settlement violated the law.
A statement put out by the DFEH (and first reported by Kotaku) said that Riot's decision to privately settle with "approximately 100 women who waived their claims and rights [runs] afoul of the anti-retaliation and anti-interference provisions of the Fair Employment and Housing Act."
The statement goes on to point out that such settlements and employment agreements that bar discussion with the DFEH in ongoing investigations have "a chilling effect on the willingness of individuals to come forward with information that may be of importance to the DFEH as it seeks to advance the public interest in the elimination of unlawful employment discrimination and harassment."
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The DFEH said it had been asking for the terms of Riot's "secret settlement agreements" for the past 18 months, with the courts even ordering Riot to produce those documents. Riot eventually did so in April 2021, where the DFEH found that "employees could not voluntarily and candidly speak with the government about sexual harassment and other violations, and obtain relief in the government’s actions."
The court then ordered Riot to issue a correction on the settlement agreement allowing employees to discuss their time working at Riot with the DFEH for the purposes of their investigation, but Riot once again delayed issuing their corrective statement by two months.
In a statement to Kotaku, Riot denied allegations that it prevented employees from assisting with the DFEH investigation. “Notices are being sent to former employees to confirm that Riot’s severance agreements have never in any way prohibited speaking to government agencies," the statement read. “Riot has never and will never retaliate against anyone for talking to any government agency."
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