Riot Games, the publisher behind League of Legends, released a statement concerning their much disputed arbitration policy, a week after 200 employees walked off the job to protest said policy. The company confirmed that it will keep its requirement that employees’ sexual-harassment or discrimination complaints be handled through arbitration, rejecting employee demands.
According to the company: “Ultimately, given the complexities of ongoing litigation, we will not change our employee agreements while in active litigation. We know not everyone agrees with this decision, but we also know everyone does want Riot to continue to improve.” Riot Games plans to create a council on diversity and inclusion, and has invited “a diverse group” of employees to take part in reviewing aspects of its code of conduct.
Management also celebrated the protest later on in the official statement. “The Rioter walkout was an important moment in our company’s transformation, and it reaffirmed our commitment to keep fighting to make this the company we believe it can be.”
Riot Games employees Indu Reddy, Ronnie Blackburn, and Jocelyn Monahan — the three leaders behind last week’s employee walkout — released their own statement this past Friday. “We’re disappointed leadership doesn’t seem to be considering any major changes to their active policy.” The employees, however, stated that they have been “blown away by the passion, solidarity and vulnerability that workers who support the walkout are showing.” They plan to share more on their next steps later this week.
The company did change its “company values” policy in the aftermath of the “bro culture” accusations, which asserted that the publisher actively promoted a sexist work environment that prioritized male workers over their female counterparts, as well as allowing sexual harassment to run rampant in the workplace.
The employee walkout took place on May 6th between the hours of 2:00pm PST to 4:00pm PST. At the time, company officials had confirmed that no action would be taken against any employees participating in the protest. Prior to the walkout, Riot Games management had been opening up internal dialogue about the company’s culture and promised internal changes.
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