ActivisionBlizzard is now also being sued by its employees. The company is accused of unfair employment practices. For months, employees were prevented from actually exercising their legally guaranteed rights.
The lawsuit filed by the ABetterABK and Communications Workers of America union is directly related to the state of California prosecuting ActivisionBlizzard for sexism and discrimination. It accuses the company of violating the National Labor Relations Act.
Employees were prohibited from talking about salaries, the number of hours they worked and working conditions. ActivisionBlizzard also told employees that they were not allowed to discuss or participate in the ongoing investigation into these issues. The US state had already added the point of obstruction of justice to its complaint and alleged, among other things, that documents relevant to the investigation had been destroyed in the human resources department – an allegation that the accused rejects.
Against unions
ActivisionBlizzard is also alleged to have excessive social media guidelines and to enforce these guidelines against employees who organize themselves into groups. These employees were “threatened or disciplined”, monitored and “interrogated” for the same reason. In principle, employees are protected from retaliation by employers in the USA in order to guarantee freedom of association.
At the same time, union or similar organization of workers in companies is particularly common in the USA not welcome. The first reaction to the original lawsuit revealed that ActivisionBlizzard is no exception. The consulted law firm WilmerHale has acquired a reputation for preventing associations by employees. ABetterABK had already criticized the measures at the beginning of August and once again referred to the wishes they had ignored regarding the working conditions. Blizzard did not respond to what, according to Communications Workers of America, is now the reason for the lawsuit. Companies that “break the law” should be held accountable.