{"id":1281,"date":"2022-08-15T15:43:21","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T19:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/?p=1281"},"modified":"2022-08-15T15:43:21","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T19:43:21","slug":"reading-the-riot-act-100-million-settlement-in-gender-discrimination-class-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bowditch.com\/diversityinclusionma\/2022\/08\/15\/reading-the-riot-act-100-million-settlement-in-gender-discrimination-class-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Reading the Riot Act: $100 Million Settlement in Gender Discrimination Class Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

A California Superior Court judge recently preliminarily approved a $100 million settlement in connection with a class action brought on behalf of a class of current and former female employees at video game studio Riot Games. The lawsuit, filed in 2018 after an expose into so-called \u201cbro culture\u201d at Riot Games<\/a>, asserted that the company discriminated against female employees when it promoted men more than women and demoted women who were similarly qualified to their male counterparts, and subjected women to a hostile work environment.<\/p>\n

The named plaintiffs, Melanie McCracken (a then-current employee) and Jessica Negron (a former employee), alleged that they were denied equal pay and opportunities afforded to their male counterparts and that they were subjected to a sexually-hostile work environment that allegedly pervaded the California-based Riot Games. As asserted in the complaint, women were required to participate in and tolerate crude male humor, were sent unwelcome and unsolicited photos of male genitalia, and were demeaned in work e-mails. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (\u201cDFEH\u201d) and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (\u201cDLSE\u201d) subsequently intervened in the matter as additional plaintiffs.<\/p>\n

Pursuant to the terms of the proposed settlement, Riot Games is to pay $100 million, which includes a minimum $80 million settlement fund to approximately 2,300 employees and contractors, in addition to $20 million in legal fees and costs. This $100 million dwarfs the $10 million settlement initially proposed, which was objected to by the DFEH. The settlement also includes a wide-ranging injunctive relief component, which will require the company, for a period of three years, to:<\/p>\n