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- The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) filed an investigation enforcement action suit against Riot Games.
- According to the suit, Riot Games is accused of refusing to provide “adequate information” related to wages.
- Riot Games issued a statement claiming that it has cooperated “in good faith” with the DFEH investigation.
League of Legends 
developer Riot Games faces an investigation enforcement action suit for allegedly refusing to provide employee payment records.
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) filed the suit in Los Angeles Superior Court on June 12, stating:
“Riot Games, Inc. has refused to provide the Department with adequate information for DFEH to analyze whether women are paid less than men at the company. DFEH seeks the information as part of an investigation into alleged unequal pay, sexual harassment, sexual assault, retaliation, and gender discrimination in selection and promotion.”
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In a statement given to Kotaku, Riot Games denied any lack of cooperation saying it has cooperated “in good faith” since the beginning of the investigation. Riot said it was “frankly disappointed” in the suit, alleging that requests for a phone call with DFEH have gone unanswered.
DFEH launched a formal investigation in October 2018 when five current and former Riot employees filed discrimination lawsuits against the company. Allegations included, but were not limited to, violation of the California Equal Pay Act.
An August 2018 exposé published by Kotaku called “Inside the Culture of Sexual Harassment at Riot Games” further exasperated employee frustration.
Riot’s current policies require anyone filing sexual harassment or discrimination complaints to settle the matter under arbitration rather than go to trial. The policy has raised concern over the fact that arbitrators are hired by Riot, calling impartiality into question. In April, Riot filed a motion to prevent two of the discrimination lawsuits from going to trial, citing the company’s arbitration rules. Hundreds of employees responded by staging a walkout on May 7.
Riot Games did not respond to The Esports Observer’s request for comment at the time of writing.
