Content material warning: this text incorporates references to sexual harassment and abusive behaviour.
Showing unable to flee a long-running collection of scandals, Activision Blizzard faces one other lawsuit in its newest alleged sexual harassment case.
As reported by the Each day Mail, a former Activision Blizzard worker recognized as Jane Doe has filed a swimsuit in Los Angeles Superior Courtroom claiming to have been groped, blackmailed and belittled by product supervisor Miguel Vega.
Doe began out with Activision Blizzard in 2016, taking over unbiased contractor work till she was employed into the Participant Help Division in 2020.
A large downside
“Activision Blizzard is an enormous online game firm with an enormous sexual harassment downside,” the plaintiff acknowledged within the lawsuit.
The swimsuit additionally alleges sexual battery, failure to stop harassment, gender discrimination and extra, with an unspecified quantity of compensation being sought in recompense. While Vega has been fired from Activision Blizzard, Doe can be looking for punitive damages in opposition to her former supervisor and the corporate.
The most recent menace, in keeping with the swimsuit, was in August 2021; allegedly, Vega had “compromising pictures” of Doe from earlier than her employment at Activision Blizzard and had threatened to launch them on a couple of event, stating: “Possibly I am going to blackmail you with these footage I’ve to get you to go away your husband so you’ll be able to come stick with me.”
Activision Blizzard shareholders re-elected CEO Bobby Kotick to the corporate board this June, however Doe has referred to as for his removing as CEO; below Kotick’s watch greater than 700 reported incidents have occurred, the swimsuit states.
“We take all worker issues severely,” mentioned a consultant for Activision Blizzard. “When the plaintiff reported her issues, we instantly opened an investigation, and Mr. Vega was terminated inside 10 days. We’ve no tolerance for this type of misconduct.”
In March this 12 months, Activision Blizzard acknowledged that it might create an $18 million fund to compensate eligible claimants because of its lawsuits.