Rockstar tribunal extended to November 18th

As reported by Chris Bratt, lawyers for both the IWGB and Rockstar will use the additional time to conduct cross-examinations of current and former staff. While the union is wrapping up its questioning of Rockstar leadership this week, the judge has granted the company's legal team more time to question the dismissed employees.

With this extension, closing arguments are now scheduled for November 17 and 18, occurring just days before the anticipated release of GTA 6. However, even after all evidence is submitted and final arguments are made, a formal ruling from the judge regarding whether Rockstar violated labor laws during the layoffs will still be pending.

The core of the dispute involves conflicting accounts of why the staff was let go. Rockstar Games maintains that the employees were guilty of "gross misconduct," citing the use of an insecure Discord server to share confidential information. Conversely, the laid-off workers claim the terminations were an attempt to prevent unionization. The IWGB legal team disputes the company's version of events.

A significant revelation from the tribunal involves allegations that a junior employee had been feeding information from the Discord server to Rockstar's HR director, Charlie Kinloch, for over two and a half years. This reportedly included news that union membership had reached the statutory threshold for legal recognition. Less than two weeks after this milestone, the workers were fired.