Civil Rights Department reports $54M Activision settlement, files Ralphs lawsuit and previews business 'Welcome In' pilot

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) told the California Commission on the State of Hate that it reached an approximately $54,000,000 settlement to resolve allegations that Activision Blizzard denied promotions and paid women less than men for substantially similar work. Deputy Director Alec Watts described the settlement as subject to court approval and said it follows a two-year investigation that started with a 2021 lawsuit.

Watts also said CRD filed a lawsuit against Ralphs grocery company alleging violations of the Fair Chance Act that resulted in the unlawful denial of employment opportunities to hundreds of applicants across Southern California. CRD alleges Ralphs screened out otherwise qualified applicants on the basis of criminal histories without individualized assessments, and that some candidates lost job offers for minor or unrelated convictions.

The agency also opened the state's pay-data reporting portal for the 2023 calendar year and released updated templates, FAQs and user guides for employers with 100 or more employees to submit demographic pay and workforce data.

Outreach and education updates: Assistant Deputy Director Lily Harvey introduced CRD’s "Welcome In" business recognition pilot, codified in the presentation as California Civil Code section 51.17. The pilot will award certification to businesses that meet benchmarks intended to prevent discrimination, harassment and hate in customer-facing spaces. As part of the program CRD plans to publish a free 30-minute interactive "how can I help you" customer-service bystander intervention training, a model policy for employers to adopt, and a posted code of conduct for participating businesses; Harvey said the program aims to begin rolling out within several months and is targeted to launch before January 1 (timeline in the presentation).

Commissioner questions focused on scope and applicability to quasi-public locations (for example, federal offices that use private security), and on consumer-facing guidance: CRD staff said resources and trainings already exist on CRD’s website and that staff will share materials and follow up with commissioners.

What’s next: CRD staff offered to provide links and resources to commissioners and to follow up on how the business recognition materials can be used by community groups and by agencies that occupy state-owned or federal-occupied spaces.