Following a two-year investigation by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the state has filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for fostering a "frat boy" culture in which female employees are allegedly subjected to unequal pay and sexual harassment.
As reported by Bloomberg, Activision Blizzard is being accused by the state of California of discriminating against female employees at nearly all levels of employment, including in regards to compensation, promotion, assignments, and termination. The state alleges Activision Blizzard’s leadership has failed to address any of these outstanding issues or prevent them from occurring within the workplace. You can read the full details of the lawsuit here.
The suit, filed Tuesday in the Los Angeles Superior Court, says Activision Blizzard, which is made up of about 20 percent women, assigns women, and women of color, to "lower paid and lower opportunity levels" with lower starting pay for similar work as their male counterparts.
The documents also accuse Activision Blizzard of fostering a "pervasive 'frat boy' workplace culture in the office. Male employees are said to drink "copious amounts of alcohol" as they make their way through cubicles and "often engage in inappropriate behavior toward female employees."
Male employees are said to come to work hungover, play video games during work "while delegating their responsibilities to female employees, engage in banter about their sexual encounters, talk openly about female bodies, and joke about rape."
The lawsuit also cites one particular incident where a female employee, who was already subjected to intense sexual harassment at the company, committed suicide during a work trip with a male supervisor who allegedly brought inappropriate, sexual items with him on the trip.
The lawsuit is asking for an injunction that will force Activision Blizzard to comply with workplace protections, as well as deliver unpaid wages, pay adjustments, back pay, and lost wages and benefits for female employees.
We value diversity and strive to foster a workplace that offers inclusivity for everyone. There is no place in our company or industry, or any industry, for sexual misconduct or harassment of any kind. We take every allegation seriously and investigate all claims. In cases related to misconduct, the action was taken to address the issue.
The DFEH includes distorted, and in many cases false, descriptions of Blizzard’s past. We have been extremely cooperative with the DFEH throughout their investigation, including providing them with extensive data and ample documentation, but they refused to inform us what issues they perceived. They were required by law to adequately investigate and to have good faith discussions with us to better understand and to resolve any claims or concerns before going to litigation, but they failed to do so.
Instead, they rushed to file an inaccurate complaint, as we will demonstrate in court. We are sickened by the reprehensible conduct of the DFEH to drag into the complaint the tragic suicide of an employee whose passing has no bearing whatsoever on this case and with no regard for her grieving family. While we find this behavior to be disgraceful and unprofessional, it is, unfortunately, an example of how they have conducted themselves throughout the course of their investigation. It is this type of irresponsible behavior from unaccountable State bureaucrats that are driving many of the State’s best businesses out of California.
The picture the DFEH paints is not the Blizzard workplace of today. Over the past several years and continuing since the initial investigation started, we’ve made significant changes to address company culture and reflect more diversity within our leadership teams. We’ve updated our Code of Conduct to emphasize a strict non-retaliation focus, amplified internal programs and channels for employees to report violations, including the “ASK List” with a confidential integrity hotline, and introduced an Employee Relations team dedicated to investigating employee concerns.
We have strengthened our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and combined our Employee Networks at a global level, to provide additional support. Employees must also undergo regular anti-harassment training and have done so for many years.
We put tremendous effort into creating fair and rewarding compensation packages and policies that reflect our culture and business, and we strive to pay all employees fairly for equal or substantially similar work. We take a variety of proactive steps to ensure that pay is driven by non-discriminatory factors. For example, we reward and compensate employees based on their performance, and we conduct extensive anti-discrimination training including for those who are part of the compensation process.
We are confident in our ability to demonstrate our practices as an equal opportunity employer that fosters a supportive, diverse, and inclusive workplace for our people, and we are committed to continuing this effort in the years to come. It is a shame that the DFEH did not want to engage with us on what they thought they were seeing in their investigation.
We will see how things work out, but I am not too optimistic for Activision Blizzard, truth to be told these reports are really bringing up some disturbing news on the sunlight. I just hope that all responsible will be brought to justice.
‘The file I386Ntkrnlmp.exe could not be loaded. The error code is 7.’ or ‘The file I386L_intl.nlf could not be loaded. The error code is 7.’
Error CausesError CausesOnce this error code is encountered, it's a clear indication that your Operating System has malfunctioned. This could be a consequence of an incorrect or failed installation of software. The software might leave invalid entries in the Windows registry. Improper shut down of your system and a malware attack are also causes of error code 0x8007007e. Additionally, someone with little or no technical knowledge might have deleted a system file by accident. Missing system files can also equate to other error codes such as registry error code 19.
You may not always be able to prevent issues from affecting your computer, but proper measures can be taken to limit your risk of experiencing problems like error code 0x8007007e. See the following suggestions below:
System File Checker is a Windows tool that allows users to check their system for corrupt or bad system files. The utility scans for corrupt files and repairs them as well as files that may have gone missing.
Depending on the type of Windows operating system on your computer, you may need to follow varying instructions. However, note that Windows operating systems including Windows 10 and Windows 8 or 8.1 and Windows Vista all provide access to System File Checker via Command Prompt.
Once you run System File Checker, the tool should be able to repair and replace corrupted files. However, in cases where the repair process does not take place, you can attempt a manual repair by replacing the corrupt file the tool identifies with a good file. The process may require technical knowledge of Command Prompt so consider help from a Windows repair technician or consider contacting Windows for instructions based on your computer’s operating system.
The System Recovery Options menu in Windows contains many tools which can enable users to resolve serious errors. In the case of Error Code 0x8007007e, one of the best tools in this menu is System Restore.
When an error occurs which inhibits users from accessing key functions on their system, System Restore enables the user to restores the computer to an earlier period without causing harm to files, photos, or documents.
However, once you run this tool, you will only be able to access files available within the period to which your computer is restored. For this reason, carefully consider which period is best suited to your purposes. Also, ensure you restore the system to a time when error code 0x8007007e was not present on your machine.
If System Restore does not resolve the error, you may undo the restoration changes. Ensure you have sufficient free space on your machine hard disk before you proceed (300 MB at least for hard drives above 500MB or at least 50 MB for smaller sized disks).
When it comes to resolving error codes, it can often be a frustrating and tricky venture, especially when you are attempting to fix the problem manually. The Internet is awash with bits and pieces of instruction, some misleading at best with uncertain success rates.
But what if there was a one-stop-shop or better yet a tool that offered solutions for error codes including 0x8007007e? Download a powerful automated tool that offers easy and effective, user-friendly solutions for users with varying error code problems.
"Windows cannot start new hardware devices because the system hive is too large (exceeds the Registry Size Limit). (Code 49)”The error causes unattached devices to be displayed on the system hive list.
Error CausesError Causes
GuideCode 39 is a device driver error code that pops up when the Windows operating system cannot load the driver for the hardware you want to use.
This hampers your ability to use the hardware properly. The error code is almost always presented in the following format:
“Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing.” Code 39
A device driver is a software program that tells the operating system how to control a particular hardware device. Each hardware device has a different driver.
There are separate device drivers for printers, CD-ROM readers, and keyboards, to name a few.
Many device drivers are already built into the operating system. But sometimes you will need to install a new device driver when you want to use a new piece of hardware device that the operating system is not familiar with, or does not anticipate.
Regardless of whether or not the drivers are already integrated into the operating system, you may still experience code 39, typically because of the corrupted or outdated drivers.
Outdated and corrupted drivers cause hardware malfunction and failure, which trigger device driver error codes like code 39. Other causes include incorrect registry values.
Below are some of the easiest and most effective methods to resolve Device Manager error code 39 on your PC.
To follow and implement these methods, you don’t require any technical knowledge or expertise. Simply follow these instructions to fix the error right away.
There is a possibility that the error code 39 is caused by some fluke within the Device Manager or your BIOS.
If that’s the reason, then a simple PC reboot can resolve the issue immediately. Therefore, before you try anything, it is advisable to restart your system.
If it works, then that is great, but if it doesn’t, then don’t worry, try other methods given below to fix this problem successfully.
If the error code 39 is generated due to faulty or outdated drivers, then simply uninstall and remove them and then reinstall new driver versions. There are two ways to remove faulty drivers.
This method, although effective in resolving error code 39, can be time-consuming. To avoid the hassle and save time, try method 3.
Method 3 - Update Drivers Automatically with DRIVERFIX
If you would like to read more helpful articles and tips about various software and hardware visit errortools.com daily.