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The list of government agencies investigating Activision Blizzard has grown to now include the SEC. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission has subpoenaed the video game publishing giant, including CEO Bobby Kotick, over files relating to employment, separation agreements and communications between senior executives. . The Wall Street Journal report says the SEC is investigating whether Activision Blizzard disclosed information about the harassment and discrimination allegations to investors in a timely manner.
Two months ago, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued Activision Blizzard for facilitating a culture of abuse, harassment and discrimination. The lawsuit alleges that the employees engaged in activities such as a “cube crawl” in which the men drank copious amounts of alcohol while moving from one workstation to another while “groping” or otherwise harassing employees. There was also an account of the infamous ‘Cosby Suite’ in which Blizzard employees set up a room at Blizzcon in 2013 where men attempted to abuse women with alcohol to try and sleep with them. they.
Following the initial lawsuit, Blizzard employees staged a walkout and formed an employee activist group fighting for an end to forced arbitration and greater transparency regarding wages and various hiring practices. . A number of Blizzard executives have either left the company or disappeared from the public eye. J. Allen Brack, CEO of Blizzard, resigned on August 3. On the same day, Director of Global Human Resources Jesse Meschuk also left the company. Brack was named in the lawsuit as having knowledge of and failing to address the abuse against female employees and Blizzard HR was also cited as an accomplice accused of ignoring or under-investigating allegations of harassment and others. violations.
Frances Townsend – vice president of general affairs for Activision Blizzard and former homeland security adviser – called the lawsuit a “distorted and false image of our company.” After a fierce social media reaction to his comments, CEO Bobby Kotick issued a press release calling Blizzard’s response a “deafening tone” and promising action that included, among other things, employee listening sessions. According to a source at Blizzard, these listening sessions were little more than “propaganda sessions” and ended after employees complained about their quality.
This new investigation is the latest in a series of cases brought against Activision Blizzard. Last week, the activist group of Blizzard employees A Better ABK, with the help of CODE-CWA – a union organization of digital workers – filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. The complaint alleges that Activision Blizzard:
Threatened employees whom they cannot talk about or communicate about wages, hours and working conditions; tells employees that they cannot contact or discuss ongoing investigations into wages, hours and working conditions; maintained an overly broad social media policy; enforced the social media policy against employees who engaged in a protected concerted activity; employees threatened or disciplined as a result of a protected concerted activity; engaged in the supervision of employees engaged in a protected concerted activity and engaged in questioning of employees about a protected concerted activity.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Activision Blizzard is cooperating with the investigation.
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