Activision Blizzard has agreed to pay $35 million (USD) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a settlement over charges that the company failed to maintain adequate workplace harassment reporting procedures. Part of this $35 million settlement is also because Activision Blizzard violated federal whistleblower protection rules.
According to the SEC, Activision Blizzard failed to collect and analyze workplace misconduct complaints. The statement by the SEC says that these failures "left it (Activision Blizzard) without the means to determine whether larger issues existed that needed to be disclosed to investors."
"Moreover, taking action to impede former employees from communicating directly with the Commission staff about a possible securities law violation is not only bad corporate governance, it is illegal." - Jason Burt, Director of the SEC’s Denver Regional Office
This settlement with the SEC did not directly mention any of the sexual harassment claims made by employees. Those are separate from this SEC investigation into Activision Blizzard. As it stands, Activision Blizzard is still being sued by several former employees, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, various groups in New York City, and more. The case between the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing vs Activision Blizzard is expected to begin this month.
The full resolution with the SEC (PDF) does note how Activision Blizzard has taken steps from 2020 to 2022 to make changes and improve how workplace complaints were handled.
Between May 2020 and May 2022, Activision Blizzard implemented several company-wide structural changes and policies that enhanced the manner in which employee complaints were required to be documented, maintained, and communicated to the company’s senior management and disclosure personnel.