Game developer Sega of America, Inc. and staffing firm Spherion Corporation have agreed to pay $600,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging the companies discriminated against a group of game testers, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

In the lawsuit, the EEOC alleged that Sega directed Spherion to terminate temporary employees placed at Sega's testing department. The EEOC asserted that 13 Filipino game testers were fired due to their national origin and, at the same time, five other testers fired in retaliation for their friendship with an employee who had threatened to file a complaint alleging preferential treatment of Filipino employees.

Under the consent decree, the 18 former employees will be paid $456,000 from Sega and $144,000 from Spherion, for a total of $600,000. Both companies deny any wrongdoing.

Both Sega and Spherion have also agreed to conduct training. In addition, Spherion will update its anti-discrimination policies according to the EEOC's guidelines on contingent workers, and seek to recruit Filipino employees to its San Francisco Bay Area offices by placing advertisements in a local Filipino newspaper.

"Temporary workers are a critical segment of our workforce, so it is vital to emphasize that they are also protected against discrimination," says EEOC District Director H. Joan Ehrlich. "Temp agencies have an obligation to oppose and remedy discrimination at client work sites when they learn that the client has discriminated against the staffing firm's workers."

The EEOC recommended that employers review the agency's guidance for contingent workers: http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/conting.html.