Workplace environment and payout policy

Abstract

Firms that encounter lawsuits are subject to unforeseen costs when a case is ruled in favor of the plaintiff. We examine the impact of lawsuits brought against firms and whether this affects the firms’ dividend policy, using unique hand-collected datasets of employee litigations and disputes that include court settlements for employee dispute cases in the United States. We find that lawsuits lower a firm’s payout ratio, and an increase in lawsuits for a firm lowers the likelihood of the firm to pay out dividends. The payout ratio also declines for firms following a litigation year: this effect of a lower payout ratio is more pronounced for smaller firms. These findings provide evidence that firms adjust their dividend policy when facing employee lawsuits.