In what many industry insiders believe is a North American first, employees of video game developer Riot Games walked out of their jobs on Monday to protest treatment at the company. Specifically the Rioters — the internal nickname for employees of the studio behind "League of Legends," were protesting the company's use of mandatory arbitration in cases of sexual harassment and sexual discrimination.
While Riot announced on Friday that it would soon start giving new employees the option to opt-out of such arbitration, Monday's event organizers said it isn't enough. "We are walking out against forced arbitration of past, current, and future employees, including contractors and those involved in current litigation," an organizer who asked that her name not be used told Variety. She added that they don't want it to be an opt-out option, but rather just not part of the contracts.
Riot's recent decision to rid itself of some forms of mandatory arbitration will only take place after current litigation is resolved and in its current state, the promise wouldn't impact current employees, only new hires. The promise to make changes to the company's arbitration came after Riot Games employees started planning a walkout. The walkout was spurred by Riot's attempts to end two lawsuits — both about sexism and misconduct at the studio — via forced arbitration.
