Star Citizen: Cloud Imperium Games sentenced for discrimination against a former employee – News

In the judgment rendered by the court, we find numerous grievances already established in February against Cloud Imperium Games, namely an unhealthy obsession with the return in person in the new premises in Manchester after COVID-19. This is precisely what Paul Ah-Tion fought against before being fired. Autistic, therefore uncomfortable with certain social contacts, the senior programmer started face-to-face at Cloud Imperium Games before establishing that distance learning suited him much better. The studio was fully informed of his medical diagnosis upon hiring, but refused to accommodate Ah-Tion despite his requests deemed legitimate.

Head in the clouds…

To justify its decision, Cloud Imperium Games claimed before the English courts that Ah-Tion's performance had declined during his transition to remote work, and that he was also unable to mentor young developers – an obligation , according to the management. But the court did not accept these arguments in light of the evidence and testimony.”The Court found that the defendant's concerns [Cloud Imperium Games, ndlr] as to the complainant's performance appear only retrospective, as no formal internal evaluation addressed said concerns while the complainant was employed” cites the judgment (obtained by Game Developer). In other words, everything was going well until he asked to stay in person. The judge adds that a standard performance evaluation or a validation of classic renderings were entirely possible from a distance, and that Ah-Tion's situation is therefore not an excuse for having failed in this duty, if again it really needed to revalidate his productivity.

“The Tribunal finds that the defender failed to prove that the complainant’s dismissal was a proportionate response. We rely on our findings that working from home was a reasonable adjustment that would have mitigated the complainant’s substantial disadvantage. There is no evidence that working remotely would have worked against the defender’s legitimate aim of ensuring that a senior gameplay programmer achieves acceptable performance.“, details the judgment.

Likewise, “[le Tribunal] believes that the defender failed to understand the nature of the complainant's autism. Among other manifestations, the complainant struggled to fulfill his role as coach, supervisor and mentor to the junior members of the team, even in person. […] We consider that the defender treated the complainant unfavorably because of a consequence of his disability and failed to show that his dismissal was a proportionate response.“Paul Ah-Tion therefore wins his case. Game Developer does not specify whether Cloud Imperium Games can appeal this decision; the studio has so far refused to comment on the judgment.