Activision Blizzard has written to shareholders urging them to vote in opposition to in opposition to a New York State proposal that it ought to publish an annual report detailing the effectiveness and outcomes of its efforts to forestall abuse, harassment, and discrimination in its office. Equally, it additionally needs shareholders to vote in opposition to a proposal to place an worker consultant on its board.

As detailed in its newest shareholder submitting, Activision Blizzard’s board of administrators is unanimously recommending shareholders vote in opposition to enacting the annual report, which would come with a number of proposed metrics: the entire variety of pending sexual abuse, harassment or discrimination complaints the corporate is searching for to resolve by inside processes or ligation; particulars of the corporate’s progress towards lowering the typical time it takes to resolve sexual abuse, harassment or discrimination complaints; the sum of money it has spent settling disputes associated to sexual abuse, harassment or discrimination, and eventually pay and hours labored consolidated information.

Whereas this sort of proposed transparency might sound prudent provided that Activision Blizzard has been rocked by surprising allegations round its office practices since final July, and stays embroiled in numerous lawsuits regarding these practices – together with final yr’s State of California submitting, which described the writer as a “breeding floor for harassment and discrimination in opposition to girls” – its board says it believes the proposal is not “in the very best pursuits of the Firm or its shareholders.”

In its assertion to shareholders, Activision Blizzard’s board of administrators – which, notably, stood by CEO Bobby Kotick following a damning report final yr claiming he was conscious of sexual misconduct throughout the firm “for years”- insists that whereas it’s “deeply dedicated to stopping all types of abuse, harassment, and discrimination and making a protected and welcoming office for all members of our neighborhood”, it believes that “quite than diverting power and assets towards creating yet one more report, we must always proceed to straight reply to worker issues.”

It additionally insists that any such report would “create a set of metrics which might be merely not the very best measures of how the Firm is responding to worker issues.”

Elsewhere in its submitting, Activision Blizzard’s board unanimously recommends shareholders vote in opposition to a second proposal that it places an worker consultant, chosen by non-management staff, on the board.

This explicit proposal, submitted by the AFL-CIO, means that “together with an worker consultant on Activision’s Board might be significantly helpful in mild of current allegations relating to sexual misconduct” on the firm, and can “contribute to a wanted refreshment of the Board by including an worker perspective to Board deliberations”.

Nonetheless, Activision Blizzard’s board believes in any other case, claiming that permitting staff to pick a director would make that particular person “non-indepent” and would “substitute the cautious judgment of the Board as to the standards that ought to be mirrored in a director candidate pool.”

“Offering non-management staff with a devoted place on the Board utilising a unique course of for Board illustration or making use of a unique set of {qualifications} would adversely have an effect on the function of the Board on this course of,” it insists.

Whether or not Activision Blizzard’s shareholders are swayed by the writer’s arguments stays to be seen, however each votes are scheduled to be held throughout its subsequent annual assembly on twenty first June.