French union files collective lawsuit against Ubisoft
Solidaires Informatique alleges publisher tolerated sexual harassment, HR employees covered for abusers
French union Solidaires Informatique today announced that it has filed a collective action lawsuit against Ubisoft alleging institutional sexual harassment.
The union said it filed the suit in a French court yesterday. It first announced its intention to file suit a year ago, as a wave of allegations were made against various senior Ubisoft leadership.
It believes the publisher is guilty of "putting in place, maintaining and strengthening a system where sexual harassment is tolerated because it is more profitable for the company to keep harassers in place than to protect its employees."
Solidaires Informatique names chief creative officer Serge Hascoët, head of HR Cécile Cornet, editorial department member Tommy François, and CEO Yves Guillemot as targets of the suit, as well as Hascoët's assistant and multiple other members of the HR team.
Hascoët and François left the company after investigations into their behavior. Cornet originally stepped down from her role but remained with the publisher. Her LinkedIn profile suggests she parted ways with Ubisoft in March.
Solidaires Informatique said Guillemot is named because the CEO should be held responsible for what happens at the company. Of the people named above, only Guillemot remains with the company and in the same role.
The union says it still wants other people abused by Ubisoft or its employees to testify or sign on to the suit. It said it would cover all legal costs of doing so, and does not require people participating to be members of the union.
When reached for comment, an Ubisoft representative said, "We do not have further details regarding the claim filed against Ubisoft" and referred us to a statement made by Guillemot in May saying that "considerable progress" had been made since the allegations first surfaced.