Riot Games Resolves Class Action Against Employees Alleging Harassment and Discrimination



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Riot Games has filed a class action suit filed by workers who claim to have been victims of sexual harassment and discrimination in the performance of their duties at the Los Angeles video game studio.

The trial started last November
when
two women who worked in the company, which belongs to the Chinese giant Tencent technology, alleged violations
California's Equal Pay and Discrimination Act, Sex-Based Reprisals and Harassment.

Both parties refused to provide details on the settlement, which still needs to be approved by the court.

"We are grateful to all the rioters who have expressed their concerns and are convinced that this resolution is fair to everyone involved," said Nicolo Laurent, CEO of Riot Games, in a statement. "With this agreement, we honor our commitment to finding the most expedient and fastest way for all rioters, and the riot, to go ahead and heal. Over the past year, we have made significant progress in evolving our culture and will continue to pursue this work, while striving to be the most inclusive society in gaming. "

"This is a very strong settlement agreement that offers members of the group significant and fair value for their experience at Riot Games," said Ryan Saba of Rosen Saba, LLP, Lt. lawyer representing the plaintiffs.

The trial followed
a series of lectures, beginning with an article from the Kotaku Games website, in which employees, past and present, describe a business culture steeped in sexism. The lawsuit itself echoed these stories, alleging that Riot Games had a "culture of first", a "bro culture" in which harassment and inappropriate behavior were not controlled.

Among the alleged behaviors in the lawsuit were "crotch grip, ghost smear, unsolicited and unwanted male genital pics" and managers circulating a "list of girls". exciting "ranking female employees by attractiveness.

The prosecution also alleged that Riot Games had retaliated against employees who were declared with "refusal to promote, refusal to increase pay or equal pay, demotions, reassignment with very different responsibilities, losses benefits, suspensions, dismissals and other adverse employment actions ".

In addition to the class action, two different employees filed an individual lawsuit for unfair dismissal and sexual harassment against the company at the end of 2018.

In response to the scandal, Riot Games has embarked on a series of internal initiatives to add more women to its leadership, bridge the pay gap and change the company culture.

But the company's decision to try to force arbitration in both individual cases led to a new wave of retaliation in May. Employees staged a strike to protest against forced arbitration, which was the first class action of this type in the video game industry.

The company refused to give in to exit requests, although it pledged to give new employees the opportunity to waive the forced arbitration clause for sexual harassment and assault "once litigation is over." in progress resolved ". In July, the court allowed Riot to force the arbitration. in one of the cases; the application for opposition to arbitration and prosecution is still ongoing for the other party.

"The resolution of this class action is a victory for women in the games," said the walkout organizers in a statement. "This decision was made because of the hard work of not only plaintiffs and their lawyers, but also all Riot employees who have the courage to fight injustices in the workplace. We are proud to work with everyone who has collectively contributed to this goal. "

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