Freedom of Speech and Employee Disclosure

Abstract

We examine how freedom of speech protections affect employee disclosure. To identify the effect of freedom of speech protections, we use anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation (anti-SLAPP) laws, which punish lawsuits that censor, intimidate, or silence critics. We examine the effect of anti-SLAPP laws using a within firm-year design that compares employee disclosures for employees working at the same firm at the same point in time. We find that employees protected by anti-SLAPP laws write more negative reviews and leave lower ratings on Glassdoor.com, a prominent employee disclosure platform. These negative reviews are more likely to discuss issues with discrimination, ethics and fraud, safety, and management. Consistent with these negative reviews credibly revealing underlying issues, anti-SLAPP laws intensify the relation between safety and fraud violations and employee disclosure of these same issues. Lastly, we find that anti-SLAPP laws increase the time to fill new jobs, consistent with protected employees' negative reviews discouraging job seekers. The results highlight how free speech protections shape employee disclosure.

Keywords: Employee disclosure, labor markets, social media, freedom of speech JEL classification: E24, G34, G41, M41

JEL Classification: E24, G34, G41, M41