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Chanel Dawnée, left, hugs Jess Kent, right, during a staged walk out at Riot Games to protest the company's move to force arbitration on sexual harassment lawsuits.
- Riot Games, one of the biggest video game developers in America, is embroiled in a gender discrimination class-action lawsuit that could cost the company more than $400 million.
- The lawsuit claims rampant sexism and harassment at the company, saying that women at Riot Games were rated, told "no doesn't necessarily mean no" by the co-CEO, and shown unsolicited pictures of male genitalia.
- The company settled the suit in December for $10 million, but two California agencies blocked the settlement last month, saying that plaintiffs could be entitled to around $400 million after an investigation into the company.
- This past week, the plaintiffs said they would renegotiate the settlement after the state's objection.
- Riot has worked to make changes to the company, hiring Angela Roseboro as its first chief diversity officer in 2019 to overhaul the company's culture and approach to diversity. But it is still working to reconcile its legal issues after years of alleged internal sexism.
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Riot Games, one of the country's largest video game makers, could be responsible for paying more than $400 million to women who were impacted by the company's allegedly sexist work culture.
A class-action lawsuit supported by about 1,000 current and former employees accuses Riot, the company behind "League of Legends," of denying women equal pay and subjecting employees to ongoing sexual harassment in the workplace. Women at the company were rated on "hotness," told at a meeting that "no doesn't necessarily mean no," and shown unsolicited photos of male genitalia, according to the suit. The chief operating officer of Riot Games was also accused by multiple people of farting on his subordinates and hitting employees in the genitals.
The company announced a $10 million settlement in December 2019, but in January two California state agencies rejected that settlement, claiming that plaintiffs could be eligible for $400 million due to pay disparities, entitled back pay, and other workplace violations. This past week, the plaintiffs announced they had hired new counsel and were looking to renegotiate the settlement after the state's objection.
Reports of Riot's internal "bro culture" first surfaced in an August 2018 investigation by gaming news site Kotaku, who spoke to multiple Riot employees. Riot apologized later that month for promoting a "core gamer" identity that allowed sexism and harassment to go unchecked, and the company has embarked on a long campaign to overhaul its company culture and approach to diversity. However, Riot is still working to reconcile the class-action suit and ongoing investigation.
The company said in a statement that it hoped to resolve the lawsuit and find a solution that satisfied the plaintiffs, but called the new settlement amount put forward by the California officials "outlandish."
"Throughout this process we've focused on reaching a resolution that's fair to everyone involved, while continuing to demonstrate our commitment to the transformative journey we've been on for the past 18 months," Joe Hixson, a Riot spokesperson, said in a statement to Business Insider. "While we have acknowledged that there is work that we needed to do to better live up to our values, we have also made clear to our employees that we will defend ourselves against false narratives and unfair claims that do nothing to remedy any hardships of actual class members."
The lawsuit was filed in the California Superior Court in November 2018 by a pair of former and current Riot employees and describes sexist behavior from multiple Riot employees in detail.
"Women are required to participate and tolerate crude male humor which include jokes about sex, defecation, masturbation, rape, and torture," the lawsuit says. "Women who do not join in these adolescent humor jokes are classified as 'snobby' and unwilling to fit in with the company."
Here's how Riot Games, the company behind "League of Legends," became embroiled in a gender discrimination lawsuit that has redefined the company: