Cher Scarlett, a former employee at Activision Blizzard and Apple, has filed a labour complaint with the United States’ National Labor Relations Board against Epic Games.
Scarlett alleges that the Fortnite developer refused to hire her because of her labour advocacy activities and support for unions.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Scarlett claimed she had gone through four rounds of interviews with Epic Games between November and December 2021.
On December 8, a recruiting coordinator at Epic sent Scarlett an email with a “Request for Activity” form, asking for the disclosure of “any efforts you take outside of work that may overlap with your potential role at Epic.”
Scarlett filled out the form on the same day, declaring she has been advising Apple employees on a labour movement called “Apple Together,” and had also testified before the federal government regarding fair labour practices.
Two days later (December 10), Epic told Scarlett it decided to go with another candidate.
Responding to The Washington Post, Epic Games spokesperson Elka Looks said “we offered the position to someone else who scored higher in their interviews.”
“We received [Scarlett’s] ‘Request for Outside Activities’ form after we had already made a hiring decision for the position and had extended an offer to someone else. The form did not play any role in our decision,” Looks added.
Looks also told The Washington Post that Epic was aware early on of Scarlett’s labour advocacy activity, but it did not impact their decision. “This candidate’s resume and application included a link to their personal website. The website details their organising activity, and this information did not factor into our decision to proceed with interviews.”
Scarlett also filed a complaint against Firefox maker Mozilla in February, similarly accusing the company of not hiring her due to her labour advocacy.
She also has three open charges against Apple, accusing the company of stopping attempts to gather wage data, retaliating against workers, and creating a hostile work environment that forced her to leave in November 2021.
In other news, Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator has launched on Switch.
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