After conducting an internal investigation, Riot Games said it found “no evidence” of harassment by CEO Nicolo Laurent against a former employee, Sharon O’Donnell, at Washington Post reported. “We concluded that there was no evidence that Laurent harassed, discriminated against or retaliated against the complainant,” the company said in a statement. “Therefore, we have come to the conclusion that, at the moment … no action should be taken against Laurent.”
Riot, who publishes games, including League of Legends and Valorant, opened the investigation after Laurent, a former executive assistant, filed a lawsuit against the company. He claimed that Laurent made inappropriate sexual comments, telling him to be more feminine and observe her tone. Laurent also said that since O’Donnell refused her advances, she had her duties removed and ended up being fired. She also claims that she was not paid for her work, including overtime, nor had a meal break.
After an investigation by an external legal team, a special committee of the board concluded that the claims were without merit. “This is not a recommendation that we take lightly,” the committee said in a statement. “Most cases of this nature are not in black and white; they fall into gray. However, this was not one of those cases. In this case, we simply could not find any evidence to justify a sanction of any kind against Laurent.” The company also asked the court to speed up legal proceedings in O’Donnell’s lawsuit by moving the case to arbitration.
The company is also facing collective action on discrimination and widespread harassment after a 2018 Kotaku investigation and strike of the entire company. Riot Games is trying to press for arbitration in this process as well, arguing that the women involved signed arbitration clauses when they were hired.
Riot’s board, however, said the decision in favor of Laurent was separate from the company’s cultural issues. “Although our conclusion in this specific case is that no discrimination, harassment or retaliation has occurred, let us make it clear that, as a committee, we remain fully invested in overseeing the company’s initiatives to transform Riot’s culture,” he said. “We encourage any Riot employee who has gone through inappropriate conduct to feel safe to report it.”