BAD-FAITH LITIGATION IN LABOR COURTS: THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN EXERCISING THE RIGHT TO SUE AND LIABILITY FOR PROCEDURAL ABUSE.

Abstract

This article examines the limits of liability for bad-faith litigation in Brazilian Labor Courts, with particular attention to procedural misconduct attributed to claimants and its legal consequences for defendants. The research addresses the tension between the constitutional guarantee of access to justice and the need to prevent the abusive exercise of the right to sue. Its objective is to examine the requirements for procedural liability established in Articles 793-A to 793-D of the Brazilia Consolidation of Labor Laws, distinguishing the dismissal of a claim on its merits from actual procedural misconduct. The study adopts a qualitative, legal-doctrinal approach based on bibliographic and documentary research, Brazilian legislation, and a critical analysis of labor case law. It argues that procedural sanctions require the precise identification of abusive conduct, individualized judicial reasoning, and proportionality, and cannot be imposed solely because a claim is unsuccessful. As its main contribution, the article proposes a set of analytical criteria for procedural liability that reconciles the protection of defendants, procedural good faith, and the fundamental right of access to justice.