The developer studio Riot Games is paying $ 100 million instead of the originally planned $ 10 million to settle a class action lawsuit for discrimination against employees. That’s what the company behind the immensely successful Leage of Legends announced.
As part of the out-of-court settlement, $ 80 million will go to anyone who has worked at Riot Games since 2014 and who identifies as female. Another 20 million is earmarked for legal fees and other costs of years of struggle. The competent court has yet to approve the agreement.
Eight times as much money for twice as many women
Riot Games has been wholly owned by the Chinese publisher Tencent since 2015, is responsible for the immensely successful League of Legends and has also developed the associated, highly acclaimed series Arcane. In 2018, the US magazine Kotaku made public how female employees at the studio were systematically suppressed and humiliated. For example, penis pictures were sent without being asked, and there was also talk of grabbing the crotch. Employees were also paid less and promotions were blocked. With company boss Nicolo Laurent it is now said that at that time one had to face the realization “that we have not always lived up to our values”. Riot Games then started initiatives to create a more open corporate culture.
Actually, an agreement had already been reached between the parties to the class action and Riot Games in 2019 to settle the dispute out of court. The employees should be paid a total of 10 million US dollars. However, California’s Fair Employment and Housing Authority (DEFH) vetoed this and instead demanded a total of US $ 400 million.
Negotiations were then restarted and two years later they have now been concluded. Should the money be distributed to around 1,000 formerly or still employed women in 2019, depending on the length of the employment relationship, it will now be around 2,300 due to numerous new hires in the past few years, writes the Los Angeles Times.
(mho)