The judge approved the settlement after the government agency found evidence of sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination and related retaliation at the company.
The settlement could help reduce risk as Microsoft prepares to acquire a company that is expected to be the largest technology transaction to date.
The settlement with the EEOC was announced in September. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing had filed a suit against the company, saying that it had a frat boy culture.
The consent decree was signed by the judge of the U.S. District Court for California's Central District. The California agency's motion to intervene in the EEOC's case was denied. The emergency stay motion in the EEOC case was struck down by the 9th Circuit.
No one is automatically entered into the claim. The EEOC's Los Angeles district office said during a media briefing Wednesday that people can apply for claims of sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination or related retaliation from September 2016 to the present. She said that people could wait for the California agency's case to play out or file individual cases if they wanted.
The provisions of the consent decree are adequate and anyone who feels the fund isn't large enough should consider that, according to Park.
Three women who did not want to be identified for fear of being retaliated against by friends or family members described their experiences at the company.
One woman said a male employee asked if she was interested in a relationship with him and his wife after seeing her profile on a dating app. She said she reported the incident to human resources.
One of the women's direct reports had experienced sexual harassment. She said she received a link to watch a training video about her managerial duty to report incidents to human resources. She claimed that she lost her job after the company put her on a performance improvement plan and her manager lectured her about her attitude.
A third woman claimed she was sexually harassed by two of her managers and knew colleagues who had received nude pictures from a male senior manager. She said she sent reports but didn't get a response. She said she had to leave her job because of stress and she had to have surgery.
In a statement on Tuesday, the company reiterated its commitments. It agreed to set up an $18 million fund to compensate people and give money to organizations that promote the advancement of women in video games and technology, as well as awareness of sexual harassment and gender equality.
The performance review system will be updated with an emphasis on equal opportunity. It said it will hire a consultant to track compliance.
We apologize to any victims who suffered as a result of conduct that did not live up to our values.
The company tripled the size of its ethics and compliance team, strengthened alcohol policies, and instituted a zero-tolerance policy on harassment and discrimination.
If the company doesn't comply, the EEOC can file a motion in court. The current three-year decree term and penalties could be extended.
The DOJ and SEC launched probes into Barry Diller's option trades around Microsoft prior to the Activision merger.
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