Bungie sued by former HR manager for retaliation and wrongful termination

A former Bungie HR Manager is suing the Destiny developer for retaliation and wrongful termination, claiming that she was fired after raising a potential case of racial discrimination to a supervisor.

The details:

• As reported by IGN, Ingrid Alm, a former manager in Bungie's Human Resources team, has filed a complaint in the studio's home state of Washington. Alm claims she was fired by the company after being asked to investigate the performance of a Black employee, referred to as "James Smith," who believed he was being racially targeted by a supervisor.
• Following her investigation, she recommended that the supervisor in question undergo diversity training. She claims that her recommendation was met with "hostility and denial," with the recommendation being denied after Alm was told the individuals "had been there for a long time" and "are highly regarded.”
• Alm claims that after the recommendation was turned down, Bungie suggested firing Smith, which she opposed citing racial bias, prompting her to approach the studio's director of equity and inclusion, Dr. Courtney Benjamin. Benjamin reportedly stated that terminating Smith would be "too risky considering the evidence” and instead suggested a written warning.
• Alm states her supervisor became "extremely angry" after this interaction with Benjamin and told her to find an "off-ramp" to leave her job. Following that, she was denied access to Bungie's computer systems and her work email without explanation, and the company stated that they accepted her resignation despite her claiming that she had never intended to resign. Alm then sent an email about the situation to chief people officer Holly Barbacovi, which went unanswered.
• Bungie has denied all of Alm's claims, but has not provided an alternative account, instead stating that it "lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity of the allegations." The jury trial is scheduled for January 22, 2024.

More gaming news:

• Blizzard has announced that Diablo IV will be available on Steam in October, just four months after it debuted as a Battle.net exclusive for PC users. Due to cross-play functionality, those who want to play the ARPG on Steam will still need a Battle.net account.
• Former BioWare employees are suing the studio after they were laid off in August of this year and were given "low offers" of severance pay. The group is now fighting for "fair severance pay, including punitive damages for what they say is unreasonably poor treatment.”