Activision Blizzard is seeking to avoid a shareholder proposal that interviews at least one diverse candidate when hiring for a position, according to a Vice report.
The proposal was made separately by both Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts by the AFL-CIO labor federation, which owns shares in both publishers.
The proposal was based on the RoFL Rule in the NFL, adopted in 2003 to require all football league teams to interview at least one diverse candidate for each vacant head coach position. It was later expanded to include vacancies for CEOs and similar front office functions.
In its letters to publishers, the AFL-CIO supported the adoption of the rule, saying: “A diverse workforce at all levels of a company can increase the company’s long-term performance.”
Activision Blizzard presented its diversity programs to Vice, saying, “We appreciate the diversity of the Activision Blizzard community and understand that our employees and players come from a wide range of backgrounds. To provide epic and captivating entertainment for a diverse, growing public world, our workforce needs to reflect these communities. “
However, she also responded to the AFL-CIO’s proposal by asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to exempt it from asking shareholders’ questions at its annual meeting this summer.
Vice reports that an Activision Blizzard lawyer told the SEC in January: “While the company has implemented a Rooney Rule policy as planned [for director and CEO nominees], the implementation of a policy that would extend such an approach to all hiring decisions amounts to an unrealistic violation of the Company’s ability to conduct its business and compete for talent in a highly competitive, fast-moving market. “
Activision Blizzard’s lawyer also said that the proposal is micro-managed in nature and “leaves no room for the company’s management or board of directors to exercise discretion over how the new hiring decisions are structured.”
On the other hand, an EA representative told the deputy editor that the publisher will consider the AFL-CIO proposal, saying it is “committed to maintaining employment practices that promote inclusion and diversity” at the company.
As Vice notes, the AFL-CIO has already been successful with similar proposals by Rooney Rule shareholders, convincing five of the largest US banks to adopt such policies and add public accountability to their existing diversity initiatives.