Employee relations and firm risk: Evidence from court rooms

Omer Unsal

Research in International Business and Finance, 2019, vol. 48, issue C, 1-16

Abstract: In this study, we examine the relation between employee lawsuit and risk in U.S. public firms. We hand collect more than 20,000 employee lawsuits and find that labor-related allegations significantly affect firm risk after controlling for various firm characteristics. We document that a greater number of employee litigation increases firm risk. Our results remain robust when we use alternative measures of employee lawsuits, including other work-related complaints, violations, disputes, and allegations. Our study reveals that case characteristics - charging parties, outcomes, and duration - play a significant role in defining the firm risk. Our results show the importance of employee treatment which may have important implications for policy makers and business owners.

Keywords: Litigation; Employee rights; Risk reduction; Firm performance; Labor force (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E25 J21 K31 K41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:48:y:2019:i:c:p:1-16

DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2018.11.003

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