Here are your FOX Business Flash top headlines for April 14th.
A lawyer for California’s Civil Rights Administration has resigned over allegations that Gov. Gavin Newsom and his office made improper attempts to interfere in a state lawsuit against video game giant Activision Blizzard.
Bloomberg reported that Melanie Proctor, deputy chief counsel for the California Department of Equal Employment and Housing, told employees in an email Tuesday that she was in protest at the firing of Janette Wipper, the department’s chief counsel, who participated in the Activision had cooperated in the lawsuit, will resign. Proctor also said Newsom’s office asked for “advance notice” about elements of the litigation.
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“As we continued to win in state courts, this interference increased and mimicked the interests of Activision’s attorney,” the email said, a copy of which was provided to Bloomberg.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (AP/AP Newsroom)
Newsom spokeswoman Erin Mellon said claims of governor interference were “categorically false.”
No further details were released about Newsom’s alleged interference. Activision spokesman Rich George did not immediately respond to an email Thursday.
Activision is a Santa Monica-based company that makes popular games like Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and World of Warcraft.
The State Department of Fair Employment and Housing sued the company in July, alleging a “brotherhood culture” that has become a “hotbed of harassment and discrimination against women.” The state claimed the company also did not pay women fairly and promoted them more slowly than men. Black women and other women of color are “particularly affected” by the company’s discriminatory practices, the State Department said in a press release at the time.
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The case is pending in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Democrat Newsom faces re-election in November. He doesn’t face any major opponents, having easily defeated a recall attempt against him last fall. An Activision board member, Casey Wasserman, donated $100,000 to Newsom’s anti-recall campaign, records of state campaign funding show. Wassermann was not immediately available for comment.
In January, Xbox maker Microsoft announced a nearly $69 billion deal to buy the company. If approved by US and foreign regulators, this could be one of the largest technology acquisitions in history. Announcing the agreement, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella pointed to the allegations against Activision and said it was “critical” for the company to advance longtime CEO Bobby Kotick’s commitments to improving its workplace culture.
The Activision Blizzard booth during the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file) (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong / AP Newsroom)
Both Wipper and Proctor, the former state employees, hired Alexis Ronickher, a Washington, DC-based attorney representing whistleblowers. Ronickher said Wipper was “in the midst of her success” in pursuing the Activision case when she was first contacted by Newsom’s office on March 29.
The statement does not address the reasons given for her dismissal. Newsom spokeswoman Mellon said the office could not comment on personnel matters.
Wipper is “evaluating all avenues of legal protection, including a claim under the California Whistleblower Protection Act,” the statement said.
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Wipper and Proctor called on “appropriate regulators” to investigate their allegations.
“For there to be justice, those with political influence must be forced to abide by the same laws and rules,” Ronickher said in the statement.
The Department for Fair Employment and Housing did not immediately provide The Associated Press with a copy of Proctor’s email, saying it must be treated as a public record request, a process that can take weeks. Ronickher told the AP Proctor he would not provide a copy of “any resignation letter she may have sent.”
| ticker | security | Last | To change | To change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATVI | ACTIVISION BLIZZARD INC. | 78.93 | -0.17 | -0.21% |
Activision has come under fire from the government and even some shareholders over allegations that management has ignored sexual harassment and discrimination against female employees.
A shareholder lawsuit filed last year alleges that the company’s negligent response caused its stock to fall in value.
The company also agreed last year to pay $18 million to settle a complaint from the US Equal Opportunity Commission. After a nearly three-year investigation, the agency concluded that Activision failed to take effective action after employees complained of sexual harassment and discrimination against pregnant employees and retaliated against employees who spoke out, including firing them.
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A federal judge approved the settlement on March 29, the same day Wipper was notified of her firing. The judge denied a request by Wipper’s agency to delay the settlement as it was pursuing its own case.