Following the intervention of Californian state regulators, the initial settlement of $10 million could increase to a whopping $400 million.
Just when it looks like Riot is in the clear something always seems to hit them back down again. We reported in December 2019 that the ongoing gender discrimination lawsuit against Riot Games, developers of League of Legends as well as a host of currently unreleased spin-offs, had reached a settlement plan. The publicly announced settlement would see $10 million being divided up between roughly 1000 women who had worked at Riot Games between November 2014 and 2019.
That’s a good sum of money to be spread out but following news that the Californian state regulators, it seems that the involved women are actually owed a bit more. Actually, it’s a lot more. $400 million to be precise.
As stated in the Los Angeles Times, a report filed by the Californian Department of Fair Employment and Housing has suggested that the women involved in the settlement are actually owed far more than what they’re being provided. Beyond the increase in the settlement payout, the report also states that “no enforceable changes to employment policies, at a company alleged to be rife with sexism, are part of the settlement.” Which does ultimately defeat the point of gender discrimination lawsuit.
Riot was quick to respond to these claims as spokesperson Joe Hixon says that Riot, “worked hard to negotiate with the lawyer representing the class to reach an agreement that we collectively believe is fair for the class members.” He goes on to accuse the intervention as being, “”filled with inaccuracies and false allegations…We are particularly dismayed that the filing downplays and ignores the efforts we have made with respect to diversity, inclusion, and culture over the past 18 months…We look forward to making our case to the Court.”
It’s still unclear whether the intervention of a third party will actually take place as that will need to be decided in a separate court case on January 31st. The possible increase in the settlement plan will then be placed under the consideration of a judge on February 3rd. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the story unfolds.
Last Updated: January 23, 2020
Original Heretic
January 23, 2020 at 14:02
That may be the biggest “oof” ever.
Raptor Rants
January 23, 2020 at 14:09
Interesting. Has there been any other examples of cases where the state intervened in a case like this? In other industries apart from gaming?
This is going to hurt RIOT. Bad. The state usually wins.
it was only a matter of time before something like this happens. Games are already seen in bad light and now it will be even worse because there was this culture in RIOT that seemed to think it was ok to discriminate like this.
Hammersteyn
January 23, 2020 at 15:27
The could have made half a SC with that money
Raptor Rants
January 23, 2020 at 14:09
Interesting. Has there been any other examples of cases where the state intervened in a case like this? In other industries apart from gaming?
This is going to hurt RIOT. Bad. The state usually wins.
it was only a matter of time before something like this happens. Games are already seen in bad light and now it will be even worse because there was this culture in RIOT that seemed to think it was ok to discriminate like this.