The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) has made several amendments to its lawsuit against game publisher Activision Blizzard, according to documents first shared by Axios. These amendments reportedly alter the lawsuit to take into account temporary and contracted workers in addition to employees and also allege that Activision Blizzard has interfered with the investigation on several fronts.
The California DFEH, according to the amendments, requested “documents and communications pertaining to the complaints” made by Activision Blizzard employees. But the company has allegedly “refused” to hand over several significant documents. Activision Blizzard reportedly said these documents, regarding discrimination and harassment complaints/investigations, “did not exist or…were privileged and confidential because attorneys were involved in the receipt of the complaints and the investigations.”
The DFEH also alleges that Activision Blizzard has not maintained all the documents and records that were required by law, claiming that some were “shredded by human resource personnel” or digitally “deleted 30 days after an employee’s separation.” According to California labor codes, companies are required to maintain these records and documents for either two or three years, depending on their nature.
Additionally, a copy of the lawsuit reviewed by Axios reveals that it’s been updated to mention that California’s anti-harassment and discrimination protections are afforded to “contingent or temporary workers,” as well as employees. Thus, the word “employees” has been replaced with “workers” throughout the entire lawsuit to reflect this.
These amendments come just a month after the original lawsuit was filed by the California DFEH, which alleged that women in the Activision Blizzard workplace were frequently subjected to mistreatment, sexual harassment, pay discrimination, and unequal work standards.
