Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. said Tuesday it will pay $14.9 million to former and current computer programmers to settle a California class action lawsuit seeking overtime compensation.
The settlement of the suit, which was filed in February 2005, resolves the last of two legal challenges EA faced regarding the alleged avoidance of overtime pay. A similar lawsuit filed in 2004 on behalf of graphic artists was settled last fall when EA made a $15.6 million payment.
Both cases alleged the company improperly classified the workers as exempt from overtime and sought unspecified damages.
The latest settlement, as well as a parallel change in company policy, will mean just under 200 entry-level software engineering positions will now be reclassified as eligible for overtime pay, said Trudy Muller, an EA spokeswoman. The employees in that class will be able to earn overtime, but will no longer receive stock options.
Redwood City-based EA, the world's largest video game maker, was one of a number of game companies hit with lawsuits in recent years for demanding grueling hours without paying overtime.
EA, which employs about 6,500 workers worldwide, adopted a new overtime policy last year, but did not include software engineers in it. Now it does, Muller said.
"We're looking forward to having all this behind us," she said.
Muller said EA does not expect the settlement to have a significant impact on its fiscal fourth quarter results, which will be announced next week.
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