CLASS ACTION

Riot Games Settles Gender Discrimination Lawsuit for $10M

The $10 million will be paid out to roughly 1,000 current and former female employees.

Riot Games on Monday agreed to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit, in which it will pay out at least $10 million to roughly 1,000 women who worked at the company in the past five years, according to court documents. The settlement will give plaintiffs Melanie McCracken and Jessica Negron, who filed the initial suit, between $10,000 and $20,000 as part of the settlement, and the rest will be distributed among the current and former female employees, according to court filings. “This is one of the largest settlements in the State of California history for gender inequality,” Ryan Saba, a partner at Rosen Saba LLP, said in a statement. “This shows that Riot is serious about changing the culture at the company.”

The Los Angeles Times reports that the lawsuit began in November 2018 when the two women sued over violations of the California Equal Pay Act, alleging that they were routinely subjected to sexual harassment and gender discrimination. Riot Games, which produces League of Legends, said in a statement that “the settlement is another important step forward, and demonstrates our commitment to living up to our values and to making Riot an inclusive environment for the industry’s best talent.”