The state of California is suing Activision Blizzard over some of the most toxic workplace sexual harassment allegations leveled against the game industry, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The agency is seeking an injunction to force compliance with workplace protections, and for the company to settle up on unpaid wages, pay adjustments, back pay, and lost wages and benefits for the women making the accusations.
The lawsuit (unearthed first by Bloomberg Law) contains some of the most shocking descriptions of sexist and toxic workplace culture that we’ve covered on Gamasutra.
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing described the company as having a “frat boy” culture, and alleges that a largely male workforce would regularly deny promotions to female employees, engage in sexual banter, and joke openly about rape in the workforce.
Women working at Activision Blizzard allege that they weren’t promoted because of the possibility they might become pregnant, were criticized for picking children up from daycare, and being kicked out of lactation rooms so male employees could use the room for meetings.
That only scratches the surface of the allegations. The suit alleges that a female Activision employee died by suicide while traveling for work with a male supervisor. According to the lawsuit, she had suffered intense sexual harassment at the company, and fellow employees allegedly passed nude photos of her around at a company holiday party.
We’ve reached out to Activision Blizzard for comment, and will update this story if they respond.