BioWare, the studio behind the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series, joined the list of video game developers to dismiss employees. Some of these workers are fighting back. Seven of them have banded together and sued the company for “adequate severance” as they claim it offered them less than they are worth.
In August, BioWare laid off 50 of its staff members in a bid to become “more agile and more focused.” The cut affected people across different experience levels, including two members who had been at the company for more than two decades.
The seven employees suing the company are some of its oldest with an average of 14 years of service between them. They filed a Statement of Claim for fair severance in Alberta Courts of King’s Bench as they believe that BioWare has been unfair to them in how it handled their severance. They are also requesting for punitive damages for this injustice.
According to the group, BioWare offered less severance than they are entitled to under the laws of Alberta. They wrote, “In most recent court cases of termination without cause, Alberta Courts have been awarded at least one month of severance pay per year of service, with full value of all benefits included.”
Our math tells us that the group would be entitled to, at the very least, an average of 14 months of severance pay with the full value of all benefits included.
We would have chalked BioWare’s lesser payment to an honest mistake but then, the company refused to up its offer even when some of its employees attempted to negotiate their severance.
BioWare has been working on a new Dragon Age installment for some time and some of these employees were involved with the project before they were laid off. However, they cannot include it in their portfolios in their search for new jobs because the studio makes them sign NDAs to that effect.
While we understand that BioWare has to protect itself, the presence of the NDAs naturally means there will be a gap in the resumes of the dismissed employees. One of them even said it could be a stumbling block in their search for new jobs, especially since the holiday season is fast approaching.
Because of this and also because it is the right thing to do, we think the least BioWare can do is pay its employees their fair severance packages.
The group of seven is represented by R. Alex Kennedy – a former BioWare workers’ lawyer. He is of the opinion that the studio may have included illegal terms in the contracts awarded to employees before the hiring.
According to him, the video game developer “attempted to reduce its obligations to these employees well below what the courts typically award in the contracts.” For example, it eliminated the benefits usually associated with termination pay, which runs afoul of the Employment Standards Code. Given he used to work with the studio, we are tempted to take his word for it, especially since he would have been privy to some of the company’s shady practices.
At the moment, BioWare hasn’t responded to the suit against it.
This is just one of the many challenges faced by BioWare, who, according to a former developer, has “lost” its magic. It’s currently working on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and Mass Effect 5. But, given the recent revelations, it appears that the earlier rumors of a lengthy delay may have been true.
