A largely under-the-radar probe of the corporate culture of Santa Monica-based video game producer Activision Blizzard by the State of California’s top employment watchdog has prompted one of the lead attorneys on the case to speak out against alleged interference by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported that two senior lawyers with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing were ousted, one by resignation and another fired, over interference by Newsom:
Melanie Proctor, the assistant chief counsel for California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing, said in an email to staff Tuesday night that she was resigning to protest the fact that her boss at the agency, Chief Counsel Janette Wipper, had been abruptly fired by the governor. Both lawyers had already stepped down from the Activision lawsuit earlier this month without explanation.
The case is currently pending in Los Angeles Superior Court. The lawsuit, which detailed Activision’s “frat boy” culture, led to employee walkouts, calls for the chief executive officer to resign, condemnation from its business partners and a stock plunge that culminated in Microsoft Corp.’s agreement earlier this year to purchase the company for $69 billion.
Proctor said in the email to staff that in recent weeks, California Governor Gavin Newsom and his office “began to interfere” with the Activision suit. “The Office of the Governor repeatedly demanded advance notice of litigation strategy and of next...
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