Riot Games to pay over 1,000 women as part of $100M settlement

Riot Games has had the $100M settlement for its gender discrimination case approved by a California judge.

The settlement: Riot is looking to move on from its past.

• The settlement was approved on July 22, as per Axios.
• Over 1,000 women are said to be receiving payouts of four or five-figure sums from the settlement, with 1,000 contractors also expected to receive payouts.
• Riot Games is also implementing changes internally to ensure its employees are treated better in the future. This includes the appointment of an independent contractor who will investigate claims of disparity in pay.
• Additionally, the League of Legends developer has been ordered to hire up to 40 women who are currently working at the company temporarily as full-time employees across Art, Design, Engineering, and Quality Assurance.

The past: This has been a long time coming for those affected by Riot’s culture in the past.

• The class action lawsuit was filed in 2018 after an investigative report from Kotaku that looked into discrimination in the workplace.
• The dispute was originally set to be settled for $10M until the California Department for Fair Employment and Housing objected to the figure. The $100M settlement was agreed upon in December.
• “While we’re proud of how far we’ve come since 2018, we must also take responsibility for the past,” the company said upon reaching the agreement. “We hope that this settlement properly acknowledges those who had negative experiences at Riot.”