A US district court judge has confirmed they're "prepared to approve" Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard's $18m USD settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year, despite objections from other parties.
Activision Blizzard initially announced it had reached an agreement with the EEOC - to set aside $18m for employees who had experienced harassment and discrimination at the company - last September, but court approval of the settlement was delayed after California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing objected.
In that objection, the DFEH - which had filed its own bombshell lawsuit against Activision Blizzard in July last year, calling the publisher a "breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women" - claimed the settlement would cause "irreparable harm" to its own ongoing legal proceedings if approved, given that its terms would, among other things, require employees to release Activision Blizzard from claims under California state law.