Nintendo of America and contracting firm Aston Carter have agreed to a settlement with a former Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tester who alleged that they were wrongfully fired for inquiring about unionization.
Mackenzie Clifton, a tester who worked at Nintendo of America's offices while employed through Aston Carter, filed a labor complaint earlier this year. Clifton told Axios that they asked "What does NoA think about the unionization trend in QA in the games industry as of late?" during a company Q&A session with president Doug Bowser.
Clifton said an Aston Carter supervisor criticized them later that day for asking a "downer question," and said similar inquiries should be directed to the contracting firm, not Nintendo. Clifton was fired less than a month later. For its part, Nintendo said Clifton was fired for "the disclosure of confidential information and for no other reason." Clifton said that the 'confidential information' was a vague tweet about a texture bug.
Now, however, Nintendo and Aston Carter have agreed to a settlement with Clifton, as reported by Kotaku. Aston Carter will be required to pay out $25,910, a combination of backpay, interest, and damages. Nintendo will be required to post a notice in its offices informing employees of their right to unionize. This agreement still needs approval from the National Labor Relations Board before becoming final.
In a statement provided to Axios reporter Stephen Totilo, Nintendo says it "is thankful that a resolution was reached in the NLRB matter so that we can continue to focus on ensuring that our working environment remains welcoming and supportive for all our employees and associates. That approach is fundamental to our company values. As part of the public settlement all parties remain obligated not to disclose Nintendo's confidential business information and trade secrets, which are paramount to our development process and product offerings."
Nintendo said in August that it's "actively investigating" claims of workplace harassment after an insider report.
