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Employees have filed a new lawsuit against Activision Blizzard accusing the company of using “coercive tactics” to prevent organizational efforts to improve working conditions – amid an ongoing lawsuit by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing alleging sexual harassment, discrimination and a “boy brotherhood” work culture at Blizzard.
Following that first filing, employee organizing efforts saw more than 2,000 current and former Activision Blizzard employees sign a petition describing the company’s initial and widely criticized response to the lawsuit as “odious and insulting. ”, With subsequent strike action seeing over 500 workers marching and“ hundreds ”more participating virtually across the world in an effort to improve working conditions.
However, the new lawsuit, filed with the National Labor Review Board by worker collective ABetterABK in conjunction with the Communications Workers of America, alleges that Activision Blizzard has, over the past six months, “committed and delivered to unfair labor practices “which violate the laws set forth in the National Labor Relations Act.
“Activision Blizzard management uses coercive tactics to try to prevent its employees from exercising their rights to congregate and to demand a more equitable, sustainable and diverse workplace,” the CWA wrote in a statement. press announcing the lawsuit. “It is their right as workers to organize for a work environment free from abuse, discrimination and sexual harassment, and this right is protected by federal labor law.”
According to the file, Activision Blizzard has “threatened employees that they cannot speak to or communicate about wages, hours and working conditions,” told employees they “cannot communicate or discuss ongoing investigations on wages, hours and working conditions “,” maintained an overly broad policy on social media “and applied this policy” against employees who have engaged in a protected concerted activity “(ie. monitoring employees engaged in a protected concerted activity “; and” participating in questioning employees about a protected concerted activity “.
This “protected concerted activity” included a petition for the improvement of working conditions at Activision Blizzard, with ABetterABK having continued to list four demands: an end to forced arbitration in employment contracts, the adoption of recruitment practices and inclusive hiring, increasing pay transparency through compensation and auditing ABK’s policies and practices to be performed by a neutral third party.
Activision Blizzard has so far responded to one of these requests by commissioning a third-party audit of ABK’s practices and policies. However, his choice of company, WilmerHale, has come under heavy criticism given the law firm’s reputation for fighting unions.
This latest lawsuit is not the first to accuse Activision Blizzard of shenanigans in its response to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s initial allegations. The DFEH recently updated its lawsuit alleging that Activision Blizzard’s human resources department shredded documents related to staff complaints and internal investigations – a claim the Call of Duty editor called ” fake “.
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