Activision ‘Frat Boy’ Case Spawns a State v. Federal Tug-of-War

The California agency charged with protecting workers rights will face off its federal counterpart Tuesday in a clash over which regulator has primacy to rein in an allegedly anti-female “frat boy” culture at the videogames maker Activision Blizzard Inc.

California’s Civil Rights Department contends the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s $18 million consent decree with Activision is being used to thwart the CRD’s rights to pursue remedies for state violations on Californians’ behalf, undermining incentives for claimants to cooperate in legal proceedings.

The agency wants the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to set aside or amend that ...