Los Angeles-based Riot Games, the maker of popular video game League of Legends has agreed to pay a total of $10 million to female employees. This was done to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged gender discrimination.
The case filed in 2018, claimed that women were “passed over for promotions and paid lesser than them”. The lawsuit also claimed that Riot Games’ corporate culture led sexual harassment and misconduct. Female employees also described a company rife with “bro culture”.
“Women are required to participate and tolerate crude male humor. Which include jokes about sex, defecation, masturbation, rape and torture,” court documents stated. “Women who do not join in these adolescent humor jokes are classified as snobby and unwilling to fit in with the company.”
The $10 million settlement will be paid to current and past employees. And contractors who “self-identify as female” according to the Settlement Agreement.
“The Settlement Agreement provides a definition of ‘female,’ including persons who self-identify as female. And allows persons who have not previously self-identified as female to do so to the Settlement Administrator,” the document states.
The settlement will pay out different amounts to contractors and employees. This depends on their tenure with the company and their start date. Impacted contractors are eligible to receive a minimum of $500 or $1,000. Employees on the other hand are eligible to receive a minimum amount of $2,500 or $5,000.
Riot games has violated California’s equal pay , discrimination and retaliation statues.
“Women are made fun of and sexually objectified,” court documents stated. “There is even an ongoing email chain of ‘Riot Games Hottest Women Employees’ which rates the hotness of each female on the list.”
Riot Games’ Corporate Communication Lead, Joe Hixson commented that the company is “pleased to be closer to fully resolving this case.” “This settlement is an important step forward and demonstrates our commitment to living up to our values and to making Riot an inclusive environment for the industry’s best talent,”
In fact earlier this year, numerous Riot employees walked out of the company’s L.A headquarters in protest of the company’s handling of the lawsuit. This was organised by Riot games researcher Ronnie Blackburn stating on Twitter. That she would no longer be silent about the sexisim taking place at the company.
