After reaching a global settlement agreement with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), and several private Plaintiffs to resolve its gender discrimination lawsuit from 2018, Riot Games, the company behind such games as League of Legends and Valorant, will pay out a total of $100 million — including an $80 million settlement plus an additional $20 million in fees and expenses.
Riot will pay $80 million to all current and former full-time workers and temporary agency contractors in California who identify as women and worked for the company from November 2014 to the present day, according to the deal. The remaining $20 million will be used for “attorneys’ fees and other extraneous charges.”
Riot has also committed to having a third-party company that has been approved by both Riot and the DFEH oversee its internal reporting and pay equity practices for three years. The court’s final approval of the settlement is still pending, and a hearing is likely to take place in the “coming months.”
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is representing Riot Games in this litigation, while Genie Harrison Law APC and JML Law APLC are representing the class members. Genie Harrison added, “This is a terrific day not just for the women of Riot Games, but for all women in the gaming and tech industries who deserve a workplace free of harassment and discrimination.”
“We’re incredibly grateful to every Rioter who has worked to create a culture where inclusivity is the norm, where we’re deeply committed to fairness and equality, and where embracing diversity fuels creativity and innovation.
“While we’re proud of how far we’ve come since 2018, we must also take responsibility for the past. We hope that this settlement properly acknowledges those who had negative experiences at Riot and demonstrates our desire to lead by example in bringing more accountability and equality to the games industry.”
“This is a great day for the women of Riot Games — and for women at all video game and tech companies — who deserve a workplace that is free of harassment and discrimination,” said Genie Harrison. “We appreciate Riot’s introspection and work since 2018 toward becoming a more diverse and inclusive company, its willingness to take responsibility for its past, and its commitment to continued fairness and equality in the future.”
As previously stated, this settlement is for a gender-based discrimination complaint that was brought in 2018 in response to an article from Kotaku that exposed Riot Games’ sexist culture.
Kotaku spoke with 28 current and former employees who have been faced with a “bro culture” that “rewards behavior that disadvantages women in some circumstances.” One of the two plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Jessica Negron, said she was in a circumstance where her manager resigned and she assumed all of their tasks, but she received no raise in pay due to the change in the job title. Despite her protests, three males were hired over her, and she was never even interviewed or spoken to about the post.
Melanie McCracken is the other plaintiff in the case, claiming that “HR failed to keep the discussion confidential and disclosed the material to her supervisor” after she spoke up about the company’s sexist culture. She started a new job in 2015, and her previous boss was promoted to a senior position a year later. McCracken was then informed that she had been “given a five-month countdown to find a new job or be sacked.”
Riot Games was ordered to pay at least $10 million as part of a settlement for the lawsuit in 2019, but the DFEH intervened and stopped the accord, claiming that the victims should be compensated to the tune of $400 million.
Following charges of sexual harassment and discrimination, Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent was sued in 2021. Riot’s investigation found no evidence of these allegations, and this settlement excludes this instance from its scope.
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