Facts

Riot Games is a Delaware Corporation with its principal offices located in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 2006, and it is a video game developer best known for creating "League of Legends," a multiplayer online battle-arena game. Plaintiff Melanie McCracken and Plaintiff Jessica Negron were Riot Games employees. In 2018, Negron and McCracken filed a putative class action lawsuit against Riot Games on behalf of themselves and on behalf of all other female Riot employees. Plaintiff Melanie McCracken was dismissed as an individual plaintiff and class representative in 2019. Representative Plaintiff Gabriella Downie was a contract employee for Riot Games from August 1, 2017 through March 30, 2018. Plaintiffs Jessica Negron, Gina Cruz Rivera, Irina Crudu, Mayanna Berrin, and Jessica Seifert are PAGA Representatives after their class-related claims were compelled to arbitration.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs contended that Defendant fostered a hostile work environment and toxic work culture; that Defendant discriminated against women based on their gender when hiring for positions; that Defendant paid its female employees less than its male employees for similar work; that women were denied promotions for which they were qualified; and that women who spoke up about these things were retaliated against.

In April 2015, Negron began working for Riot as an Assistant Content Editor making roughly $56,000 per year. About six months into her term of employment, Negron's manager left Riot to pursue other employment, and Negron took on her former supervisor's responsibilities and duties, but she did not receive any change in salary or title. During her time performing these duties, which lasted for over a year, Negron repeatedly inquired about making the role change official, but despite positive feedback regarding her performance, Negron neither received, nor was she interviewed for, the official position. Instead, three men were interviewed and given the role, with the first two leaving after only a few weeks. The third man hired for the role stayed for a period of a few months, and when he was leaving, Negron was again asked to take on his duties and responsibilities. This time, however, Negron was outright told there would be no change in her title or compensation, so in April 2017, Negron resigned from her position.

On August 1, 2017, Downie began working for Riot as a Production Artist after being recruited by another Riot Games employee in the Art Department. Despite promises of full-time employment, Downie was hired through a staffing agency, Target CW. Downie was paid less than her male comparators. A few months into her employment, a male employee began stalking and harassing Downie. Downie reported this misconduct her to immediate supervisor. Downie's immediate supervisor retaliated against Downie for her report, causing Downie to have a panic attack. Downie then escalated her complaint to another supervisor as well as the panic attack. After receiving no assistance from management, Downie reported her complaint to Human Resources. After Downie submitted her written complaint to Human Resources, her desk was moved to an isolated area at Riot Games, despite having done nothing wrong, while her harasser was still able to roam freely throughout the Riot Games' facility. On March 31, 2018, Downie was then wrongfully terminated from her position at Riot Games under the false pretenses of "lack of work."

In April 2014, Seifert began working for Riot as a Live Services Specialist. Seifert was hired through the staffing agency Target CW. In August 2014, Seifert became a full-time salaried employee and served in the position of Programs Manager, Live Services. Seifert Seifert held a number of positions at Riot Games including Product and Data Manager and Senior Talent Development Programs Manager. During her employment, Seifert believed that she was compensated less than her male counterparts who performed substantially similar work. Seifert submitted several formal complaints. When Seifert complained of the disparate treatment, Riot Games management justified the pay disparities by claiming her male counterparts were the sole financial providers for their families, that her male colleagues had spouses that were expecting newborn children, and/or that Seifert was in a personal relationship with a male employee at Riot Games and thus did not need additional compensation. Riot Games retaliated against Seifert for her complaints of pay disparity by routinely raising unsubstantiated criticisms of her work performance and publicly stating that Seifert "couldn't balance motherhood and work." As a result, Seifert was constructively discharged in April 2019.

In December 2011, Crudu began her employment with Riot Games in their Dublin, Ireland Office. In July 2013, Crudu became a full-time salaried employee of Riot Games in their Los Angeles, California headquarters as Social Media Coordinator. Crudu served in a number of roles during her employment with Riot Games including Senior Social Media Coordinator, Producer, and Senior Localization Producer. During her employment, Crudu was asked to perform duties above her job title without the proper title or compensation. On several occasions, Crudu complained about being paid less than her male counterparts and asked to perform duties outside of her role. Crudu was offered lesser job titles than her male counterparts so Riot Games could justify the pay disparity between Crudu and her male counterparts. When Crudu complained to her supervisors, she was met with belittling criticisms of her skills and contributions to her team. In October 2018, Crudu's employment was constructively terminated.

In April 2016, Rivera began her employment with Riot Games serving as a Business Analyst. From the beginning of her employment, Riot Games paid Rivera less than her male counterparts. During her employment, Rivera was subjected to belittling and demeaning comments by male supervisors and had her contributions minimized to justify Riot Games' discriminatory pay practices. During Rivera's employment, male employees of Riot Games would refer to women as "bitches," and chastised for being "too emotional" and "too sensitive." While Rivera has received pay increases, Riot Games continued to pay Rivera's male counterparts more than her for substantially similar work.

In March 2018, Berrin began her employment with Riot Games as a Studio Store Manager/Global Swag Coordinator, hired through staffing agency Target CW. In January 2019, Berrin became a Production Coordinator for Riot Games' Television Film Team but was classified in the lower role as Administrative Assistant because she was a woman. During her employment, Berrin was sent to the Sundance Film Festival where she was told by an executive "not to speak unless spoken to" and not to contribute her opinions to the team. Berrin reported this verbal berating to Human Resources. Riot Games had an outside law firm interview Berrin about her complaint. After the investigation concluded, Berrin was given a new manager who subjected Berrin to retaliation for her complaints by excluding her from meetings and emails, which negatively impacted her ability to perform her job. Because of this treatment, Berrin secured a new position with Riot Games as an Associate Producer with the Audio/Voiceover Team, in a temporary capacity. Berrin sought full-time employment with Riot Games, however, no team would hire Berrin despite her qualifications for multiple open positions. In fact, Riot Games colleagues informed Berrin that her complaint to Human Resources was a "death sentence," which proved to be true. Berrin separated from Riot Games in September 2019.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied any wrongdoing and all of Plaintiffs' allegations.

Settlement Discussions

The parties attended mediation before the Honorable Gail Andler (Retired) on July 16, 2019, and continued further negotiations after that date with the assistance of Judge Andler. In November 2019, the parties reached a proposed settlement agreement in the amount of $10 million, but the Department of Fair Employment and Housing and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement objected to the proposed settlement and intervened in the litigation. Between October and December 2021, the parties participated in several sessions of a court-ordered Mandatory Settlement Conference with the assistance of mediator Mark Rudy and Judge Daniel Buckley, and negotiated the terms of the settlement agreement.

Result

$100 million gross settlement to resolve the allegations asserted by Plaintiffs, DFEH, and DLSE; $80 million of which is a cash fund for class members; $20 million of which goes to plaintiffs' legal fees. Defendant also agreed to implement workplace policy and pay adjustments to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Defendant will make 40 full-time positions in engineer, quality assurance, or art-design roles to qualified class members who worked as temporary contractors; hire and pay for a third-party expert to conduct gender-equality analysis for the three-year term of the settlement agreement; and hire and pay for a third-party monitor to audit compliance with workplace protections for the three-year term of the settlement.