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Santa Monica-Based Activision Blizzard Sued Over Harassment

SANTA MONICA (CBSLA) -- Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard, one of the country's largest video game developers, has come under fire by the state of California for what employees have called a culture of harassment.

Activision Blizzard makes many popular video games, including World of Warcraft and Diablo.

The complaint was filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to a document obtained by Bloomberg Law.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing investigated the company, finding that it discriminated against women in regards to pay, job assignment, promotion and termination. The company is also accused of failing to prevent discrimination, according to the state agency.

Activities detailed in the complaint include what was described as "cube crawls," which was allegedly when male employees "drink copious amounts of alcohol as they crawl their way through various cubicles in the office and often engage in inappropriate behavior toward female employees."

Women employees have also accused the company of being criticized for family responsibilities, like picking up their children from daycare, and being passed up for promotion due to the possibility that they might get pregnant.

The suit also mentions a woman employee who died by suicide after her issuing complaints of sexual harassment, including having nude photos of her circulated at the company.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing is seeking pay adjustments, back pay, lost wages, among other benefits for women employees.

Blizzard co-founder and former CEO Mike Morhaime took to Twitter to share his thoughts about the allegations, saying "to the Blizzard women who experienced any of these things, I am extremely sorry that I failed you."

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