LABORBAR2017

SUGGESTEDANSWERSTOTHE2017BAREXAMI
NATI
ONSLABORANDSOCI
ALLEGI
SLATI
ON:
PARTONE

A.

Whatar
etheaccept
edt
est
stodet
ermi
net
heexi
stenceofanempl
oyer
-empl
oyeer
elat
ionshi
p?
(
5%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Thef ourelementsofanempl oymentrelat

ionshipar e:(
a)theselecti
onandengagementoft he
employ ee;(b)t
hepaymentofwages; (
c)thepowerofdi smissal
;and( d)theempl oyer’
spower
tocont r
oltheemployee’
sconduct.(LakassaI ndustriy
angKapat i
rangHal i
gingAl y
ansa-
PinagbuklodngManggagawangPr omongBur lingamev .Burli
ngameCor porat
ion,G.R.No.
162833, June15,2007,524SCRA690, 695,ci
tingSyv .CourtofAppeal s,398SCRA301, 307-
308( 2003);Paci
fi
cConsultantsI
nternati
onalAsi a,
Inc.v.Schonfel
d, G.R.No.166920, Febr
uary
19,2007, 516SCRA209, 228)

NOTE: Thefor
egoinganswerincanbef oundinpage332oft hebookentitl
edPr i
nciplesand
CasesLaborStandardsandSocialLegi
slat
ion,Fi
rstEditi
on2015, byAtt
y.Voltair
eT.Duano.The
topi
conempl oyer-
employeerel
ati
onhasbeent imeandagai nthesubjectmat terofbar
questi
ons,morespecifi
cal
lydur
ingthe2016,2014, 2012,2011,2010,2008,2002, 1996and
1991BarExami nat
ions.

B.

Appl
yingthetestst
odet er
minet heexi
stenceofanemploy
er-employ
eerelat
ionshi
p,i
sa
j
eepneydriveroper
ati
ngundert heboundarysyst
em anemployeeofhisj
eepneyoperat
orora
merelesseeofthejeepney?Explai
nyouranswer.(3%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Inanumberofcasesdeci dedbyt heSupr emeCour t

,(NationalLaborUni onv s.Dingl asan, 98
Phil
.649, 652( 1996);Magboov s.Ber nardo,7SCRA952, 954( 1963);Lantaco, Sr.vs.Ll amas,
108SCRA502, 514[ 1981]),i
twasr uledt hattherel
ationshipbetweenj eepneyowner s/ operator
s
ononehandandj eepneydr i
ver
sont heot herundertheboundar ysystem i sthatofempl oy er
-
empl oyeeandnotofl essor-l
essee.Itwasexpl ai
nedthatint heleaseofchat t
els,thel essor
l
osescompl etecont roloverthechattel l
easedal t
hought helesseecannotber ecklessi ntheuse
thereof,other wisehewoul dberesponsi bleforthedamagest othelessor .Inthecaseofj eepney
owner s/oper atorsandj eepneydrivers,theformerexer ci
sesuper vi
sionandcont rol ov erthe
l
atter.Themanagementoft hebusinessi sint heowner ’
shands.Theownerashol deroft he
certi
fi
cateofpublicconveniencemustseetoitt
hatthedri
verfol
lowsther out
eprescri
bedby
thefranchisi
ngauthori
tyandt herul
espr
omulgatedasregardsit
soperation.Now,thefactt
hat
thedriver
sdonotr ecei
vef i
xedwagesbutgetonlythati
nexcessoft heso-call
ed“boundary
”
theypayt otheowner/operatori
snotsuff
ici
entt
owi t
hdrawt her
elat
ionshipbetweenthem fr
om
thatofempl oyerandemploy ee.

NOTE: Thefor
egoinganswerincanbef oundi npages341-342ofthebookent it
ledPrinci
ples
andCasesLaborSt andardsandSocialLegi
slati
on,Fir
stEdit
ion2015,byAtty.Volt
air
eT.Duano.
Thetopiconempl oyer
-employeerel
ati
onhasbeent i
meandagai nthesubjectmatterofbar
quest
ions,morespecifi
call
yduri
ngthe2016, 2014,2012,2011,2010,2008,2002,1996and
1991BarExami nati
ons.

I
I.

Procopiowasdi smissedf rom empl oy mentf orstealinghi sco- empl oyeeRaul ’swat ch.Procopi
o
fi
ledacompl ai
ntforill
egaldismi ssal.TheLaborAr biterruledi nPr ocopio’sfav oront heground
thatRaul’stesti
monywasdoubt ful,and, therefore,
thedoubtshoul dber esol
v edi nfavorof
Procopio.Onappeal ,theNLRCr ev ersedt her ul
ingbecauseAr ticl
e4oft heLaborCode–whi ch
statesthatalldoubtsintheinter pretationandi mplement ationoft hepr ovisi
onsoft heLabor
Code, i
ncludingtheimplement ingr ulesandr egulat
ions, shal lber esolvedi nfav oroflabor–
appliedonlywhent hedoubti nv olvedt he“ i
mpl ement ati
onandi nterpretati
on”oft heLaborCode;
hence, t
hedoubt ,whichinvolvedt heappl icationoft her ul
esonev idence, nottheLaborCode,
couldnotnecessar i
lyber esolvedi nf avorofPr ocopi o.Wast her ev er
sal corr
ect ?Explainyour
answer .(
3%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

InPeñafl
orv.Out
doorClot
hingManufact
uri
ng,G.R.No.177114,January21,
2010,theSupreme
Courtexpl
ainedt
heappli
cati
onofArt
icl
e4oft heLaborCoderegardi
ngdoubtsonr espondent
’s
evi
denceont hevol
unt
ari
nessofpet
it
ioner’
sresi
gnati
on.Thus,t
heHi ghCourtsai
d:

Anot herbasicpr i
nciplei st hatexpr essedi nAr ti
cle4oft heLaborCode–t hatalldoubt sint he
i
nter pretat
ionandi mpl ement ati
onoft heLaborCodeshoul dbei nterpr et
edinf avoroft he
worki ngman.Thi spr i
nci plehasbeenext endedbyj urisprudencet ocov erdoubt sintheev i
dence
present edbyt heempl oy erandt heempl oyee.( Fuji
tsuComput erPr oduct sCor porati
onoft he
Phil
ippi nesv.Cour tofAppeal s, 494Phi l.697[ 2005])Asshownabov e, Peñaflorhas, atvery
l
east ,shownser iousdoubt saboutt hemer i
tsoft hecompany ’
scase, part
icularl
yi nthe
appr eciati
onoft heclinchi ngev idenceonwhi cht heNLRCandCAdeci si
onswer ebased.I nsuch
cont estofevidence, t
heci t
edAr ti
cle4compel sust or uleinPeñaf l
or ’sfavor.Thus, wef indt hat
Peñaf lorwasconst r
uct ivelydismi ssedgi vent hehost il
eanddi scrimi natorywor king
environmenthef oundhi msel fin,par t
icularl
yev idencedbyt heescal atingactsofunf ai
rness
againsthi mthatcul mi nat edint heappoi ntmentofanot herHRDmanagerwi t
houtanypr ior
noticet ohim.Wher enol esst hant hecompany ’schiefcor porateof ficerwasagai nsthim,
Peñaf lorhadnoal ternat ivebutt or esi
gnf rom hi sempl oy ment .(Unicor m SafetyGl ass,Inc.v .
Basar te,486Phil.493[ 2004] )
NOTE:Theforegoinganswerincanbef oundinpage30ofthebookent
it
ledPr i
nci
plesand
CasesLaborStandardsandSocial
Legislat
ion,Fi
rstEdi
ti
on2015,
byAtt
y.Voltai
reT.Duano.The
topi
conArti
cle4regardingt
heapplicat
ionofAr t
icl
e4ondoubtsint
heevidencewasaskedlast
2009BarExamination.

I
II
.

A.

AndrewManni ngAgency(AMA)recrui
tedFel i
cianoforempl oymentbyI nvict
usShipping,i
ts
for
eignprincipal
.Meantime,AMAandI nvictusShippingter
mi nat edt
hei
ragencyagr eement.
Uponhi srepatri
ati
onfoll
owinghi
spremat ureterminati
on,Felicianocl
aimedf rom AMAand
Inv
ictusShippingthepaymentofhissalariesandbenef i
tsfort heunser
v edporti
onoft he
contract
.AMAdeni edl
iabil
i
tyonthegroundt hatitnolongerhadanyagencyagr eementwi t
h
Inv
ictusShipping.I
sAMAcor r
ect
?Explainy ouranswer.(3%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

AMAi snotcor r
ect.Section10ofRepubli
cAct10022pr ovi
dest hattheli
abili
tyofthe
pri
ncipal/
employerandt herecr
uit
ment/placementagencyf oranyandal lcl
aimsshallbejoint
andsev eral
.Thi
spr ovisi
onshal
lbeincorporatedi
nt hecontractforoverseasempl oy
mentand
shal
lbeacondi ti
onpr ecedentf
orit
sappr oval
.Suchl i
abil
it
iesshallconti
nuedur i
ngtheent i
re
peri
odordur ati
onoft heemploymentcont r
actandshal l
notbeaf fectedbyanysubst i
tut
ion,
amendmentormodi f
icati
onmadelocall
yori naforeigncount r
yofthesai dcontr
act.

NOTE:Theforegoi
nganswerincanbefoundinpage675ofthebookent
it
ledPr
inci
plesand
CasesLaborRelat
ions,
Fir
stEdi
ti
on2016,byAtt
y.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.

B.

Asarul
e,di
recthi
ri
ngofmi
grantwor
ker
sisnotal
l
owed.Whatar
etheexcept
ions?Expl
ainy
our
answer
.(2.
5%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Di
rectHi
res—wor ker
sdir
ect
lyhir
edbyemployer
sforover
seasempl
oymentasaut
hor
izedby
t
heSecretar
yofLaborandEmploymentandpr
ocessedbythePOEA,
incl
udi
ng:

1.Thosehi
redbyi
nter
nat
ional
organi
zat
ions

2.Thosehi
redmember
soft
hedi
plomat
iccor
ps.

3.Namehi r
esorwor ker
swhoar eabl
etosecureover
seasemploymentopportuni
tywit
han
employerwit
houttheassistanceorpart
ici
pat
ionofanyagency
.[LaborCode,POEARules]
(Secti
on1(i
),Rul
eII,
Omni busRulesandRegulati
onsImpl
ementingTheMigrantWorker
sand
OverseasFi
li
pinosActof1995asamendedbyRepubl i
cActNo.10022)

Thedi
recthi
resar
eexcept
ionst
othebanondi
rect
-hi
ri
ngunderAr
ti
cle18oft
heLaborCode.
NOTE:Thef or
egoingansweri
ncanbef oundinpage112oft hebookenti
tl
edPri
nci
plesand
CasesLaborStandardsandSoci
alLegi
slat
ion,Fi
rstEdi
ti
on2015,byAtty
.Volt
air
eT.Duano.The
topi
condirecthi
ri
ngwasaskedlast2010BarExami nat
ion.

C.

Phi
l,
ar esi
dentalien,
soughtempl oymentinthePhi
l
ippines.Theemploy
er,not
ici
ngthatPhi
lwas
afor
eigner,demandedt hatehfi
rstsecur
esanempl oymentpermitf
rom theDOLE.I
st he
employercorrect
?Explainyouranswer.(
2.5%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Theempl oyeri
snotcor rect.Accordi
ngtoSection2,DepartmentOrderNo.97-09Seri
esof2009,
i
ssuedonAugust26, 2009[ RevisedRul
esfortheIssuanceofEmpl oymentPermit
stoFor ei
gn
Nati
onals]oneoftheforeignnational
sthatareexemptfrom securi
nganempl oymentpermitisa
per
manentper manentr esidentforei
gnnati
onals,pr
obati
onaryortemporaryvi
saholders.
Moreover,theLaborCodespeaksofnon- r
esidental
iensthatarer
equiredtoobtai
nanal i
en
employmentper mit
.

NOTE: Thefor
egoi
nganswercanbef oundinpages270and271oft hebookenti
tl
edPri
nci
ples
andCasesLaborStandardsandSocialLegi
slat
ion,
Fir
stEdi
ti
on2015,byAtt
y.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.
Thetopiconali
enemploymentpermithasbeent i
meandagaint
hesubjectmatt
erofbar
quest
ions,morespeci
fi
call
yduri
ngthe2007and1995BarExami nat
ions.

I
V

TheRegi
onalTr
ipar
tit
eandProduct
ivi
tyBoar
d( RTWPB)forRegion3issuedawageorderon
November2,
2017fixi
ngtheminimum wagesforal
li
ndustri
esthroughoutRegi
on3.

(a)I
sthewageordersubj
ectt
otheappr
oval
oft
heNat
ional
WagesandPr
oduct
ivi
ty
Commi ssi
onbef
oreitt
akesef
fect
?(2%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

No.theNat
ional
WagesandPr oduct
ivi
tyCommi ssi
onfunct
ioni
storev
iewtheWageOrder
i
ssuedbytheRegional
Tr i
par
ti
teandPr oduct
ivi
tyBoar
d(RTWPB)(SeeSect
ion4,
RuleI
V, NWPC
GUIDELI
NESNO.01Ser iesof2007,datedJune19,2007)

NOTE:Theforegoinganswercanbefoundinpage558ofthebookent
it
ledPr
inci
plesand
CasesLaborStandardsandSoci
alLegi
slat
ion,
Fir
stEdi
ti
on2015,byAt
ty.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.

(b)Thelawmandat esthatnopet i
tionforwagei ncr
easeshallbeent er
tainedwit
hinaperiodof
12mont hsfrom theef fecti
vi
tyofthewageor der.Underwhatci r
cumst ancesmayt heKil
usang
WalangTakot ,
af ederationoflabororganizat
ionsthatpubli
clyandopenl yassai
l
st hewage
orderasblat
antlyunjust ,i
nit
iat
ethereviewoft hewagei ncr
easesundert hewageor derwit
hout
waiti
ngfortheendoft he12- monthperiod?Explai
ny ouranswer.(3%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:
IfKi
lusangWal angTakotf eelsaggri
evedbyt heWageOr deri
ssuedbytheBoarditmayappeal
suchOr dertotheNational WagesandPr oducti
vi
tyCommi ssi
onbyfil
ingaveri
fiedappealwit
h
theBoar dnotlat
erthant en(10)daysfrom thedateofpubli
cati
onoftheOrderonthegrounds
ofnon-conformitywit
hpr escribedgui
deli
nesand/orprocedures,
questi
onsoflawandgr ave
abuseofdi scr
eti
on.(SeeSect ion1,RuleIV,
inrel
ationt
oSect i
on2RuleV,NWPCGUI DELINES
NO.01Ser iesof2007, datedJune19, 2007)

NOTE:Theforegoinganswercanbefoundinpages559-
560ofthebookenti
tl
edPri
ncipl
esand
CasesLaborStandardsandSoci
alLegi
slat
ion,
Fir
stEdi
ti
on2015,byAtt
y.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.

A.

Per
cival
wasamechanicofPacifi
cAirl
i
nes.Heenj
oy edameal breakofonehour.However
,
dur
ingmealbr
eaks,hewasrequir
edtobeonstand-byforemergencywork.Duri
ngemergenci
es,
hewasmadetof or
egohismealsortohurr
yupeating.Hedemandedpay mentofovert
imefor
workdonedur
inghismealper
iods.I
sPerci
val
correct?Expl
ainyouranswer.(
3%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Perci
val
iscorrect
.Whil
easar uletheei
ghthourperi
oddoesnoti
ncl
udethemealbr
eak
however
,inthecaseofPerciv
alhewasr equir
edtofor
egohismeal
sortohur
ryupeati
ng.The
mealperi
odshouldther
eforebeconsideredcompensabl
ehour
sofworkandaworkbeyond
ei
ghthours.Perci
val
ist
hereforeenti
tl
edt oover
ti
metime.

NOTE:Theforegoinganswercanbefoundinpage371ofthebookent
it
ledPr
inci
plesand
CasesLaborStandardsandSoci
alLegi
slat
ion,
Fir
stEdi
ti
on2015,byAt
ty.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.

B.

Di
sti
ngui
shal
ear
nerf
rom anappr
ent
ice.(
4%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Ast
otheagr
eement

InApprent
iceship,
theagreemententer
edbytheparti
esi
sknownasApprent
iceshi
pAgreement
.
(Ar
ti
cles58[d],LaborCode);
Inlear
nershi
p,t
heagreementent
eredbyt
hepart
iesisknownas
Lear
nershi
pAgr eement(Arti
cle75,
LaborCode);

Ast
otheper
iodofagr
eement

I
nAppr ent
iceship,theagreementshal
lnotbelessthanf
our(4)monthsandnotmorethansix
(6)months;(Art
icles58[c]inr
elati
ontoArt
icl
e61and3.10,TESDACi r
cul
arNo.16,Seri
esof
2004);I
nlearnership,t
heagreementperi
odshallnotbemorethant
hree(3)months;(
Arti
cle75
(c),
LaborCode, 3.10,TESDACircul
arNo.16,Seri
esof2004)
;
Ast
oobl
i
gat
ionst
ohi
re

Inapprenti
ceshi
p,theenterpri
seisnotobligedtohiretheapprent
iceaf
tertheapprent
iceshi
p
period;
(Art
icl
es61, LaborCode,3.10,TESDACi r
cularNo.16,Seri
esof2004);I
nlearnershi
p,t
he
enterpr
isei
sobligedtohirethelearneraf
terthelearner
shi
pper i
od(Art
icl
e75( d)
,LaborCode,
3.10,TESDACi r
cularNo.16,Seri
esof2004) ;

Ast
opr
e-t
ermi
nat
ionoft
heagr
eement

I
nappr enti
ceship,uponpre-t
ermi
nati
onoftheagreementthereisnor egul
aremploymentby
operat
ionoflaw; (
Ar t
icl
es57-72,
LaborCode);I
nlear
nershi
p,alearnerall
owedorsuf f
eredto
workduringthef i
rsttwo(2)monthsshal
lbedeemedr egul
aremploy eesift
rai
ningistermi
nated
bytheempl oyerbeforetheendofthesti
pul
atedperi
odthroughnof aultoft
helearner
s( Ar
ti
cle
75(d),LaborCode) ;

Ast
otheper
sonhi
red

Inapprent
iceship,
thepersonshiredastrai
neesisknownasappr ent
ice;(
Art
icl
es58[a],
Labor
Code,2,TESDACi rcul
arNo.16,Seriesof2004);
Inlear
nership,
thepersonshir
edastrai
neesi
s
knownasl earner(Art
icl
es73,LaborCode,2,TESDACircularNo.16,
Ser i
esof2004)
;

Ast
othesuppl
ementont
heor
eti
cal
inst
ruct
ions

I
nappr enti
ceship,t
het r
aini
ngont hej
obi swit
hcompul sor
yrel
atedtheor
eti
calinstr
ucti
ons;
(
Arti
cle58[ a],
LaborCode, Sect
ion4[j]
,R.A.7796,
and2, TESDACircul
arNo.16, Ser
iesof2004)
;
I
nlearnership,t
hepr act
icalt
rai
ningonthejobmayormaynotbesuppl ementedbyr el
ated
t
heoreticali
nstruct
ions;(2,
TESDACi r
cularNo.16,Ser
iesof2004);

Ast
other
easonsf
orhi
ri
ng

Inappr ent
iceship,t
helawdidnotpr ovi
deanyr easonswhereanappr enti
cemaybehi red
(Art
icles59-72,LaborCode);Inlear
nership,thelawpr ovi
desthefollowingreasonsforhir
ing(
1)
whennoexper iencedworkersareav ai
l
able;(2)theempl oymentofl earner
sisnecessaryto
preventcur t
ail
mentofempl oymentoppor tunit
ies;and(3)theempl oymentdoesnotcr eate
unfaircompet i
tionint
ermsofl aborcostsori mpairorlowerworkingst andar
ds(Arti
cle74,
LaborCode) ;

Ast
oqual
i
ficat
ions

Inapprent
iceship,thequalif
icat
ionsare(a)Atleastf i
ft
een(15)y ear
sofage; (
b)Possess
vocati
onalapti
tudeandcapaci t
yforappropriatetests;and(c)Possesstheabil
it
yto
comprehendandf oll
owor alandwr i
tt
eninstructi
onsandnoj ust
ifi
cati
onsorreasonsgiv
enby
l
awf orhir
ing;(Art
icles59,LaborCode) ;
Inlearnership,thel
awdidnotpr ovi
desuch
quali
fi
cati
ons.Howev er
,reasonsorjustif
icat
ionsf orhiri
ngareprovidedbylaw(Art
icl
es74,
LaborCode);

Ast
owhatoccupat
ionshi
red
Inapprent iceship,
theoccupat i
onsi nvolves“highlytechni
cal i
ndustri
es”whichmeanst rade,
business, enterpri
se,i
ndustry,orotheract iv
ity,
whi chisengagedi ntheappli
cati
onofadv anced
technologyandappr enti
ceableoccupat i
onsmustbeappr ovedbyTESDA; (
Arti
cles60,Labor
Codeand3. 3,TESDACi rcul
arNo.16, Seriesof2004) .I
nlearnership,t
heoccupat i
onsinvol
ves
aresemi -skill
edandot herindustr
ial occupationswhi charenon-apprenti
ceableandlearnabl
e
occupat i
onsmustbeappr ovedbyTESDA( Arti
cles73,LaborCodeand3. 3,TESDACi r
cularNo.
16,Seriesof2004) .

NOTE: Thefor
egoinganswercanbefoundinpages313- 314ofthebookentit
ledPrinci
plesand
CasesLaborStandardsandSoci
alLegisl
ati
on,Fi
rstEdit
ion2015,byAtt
y.Voltai
reT.Duano.The
topi
cont hedi
sti
ncti
onsbetweenapprenti
ceandlearnerhasbeenthesubjectmatterofbar
questi
onsduri
ngthe2016and2012BarExami nations.

C.

Ar
ether
edi
ff
erencesbet
weenahousehel
perandahomewor
ker
?Expl
ainy
ouranswer
?

Domesticworkeror“Kasambahay”referstoanyper sonengagedindomest i
cwor kwit
hinan
employmentrelat
ionshi
psuchas,butnotl i
mitedto,thefol
lowing:gener
alhousehel
p,
nur
semai dor“yaya”
,cook,
gardener,orlaundr
yper sonwhil
e( b)“I
ndustr
ial
Homewor ker”means
aworkerwhoi sengagedinindust
ri
al homewor k.

NOTE:Thefor
egoinganswercanbef
oundinpages676and712oft hebookenti
tl
edPri
nci
ples
andCasesLaborStandar
dsandSoci
alLegi
slat
ion,
Fir
stEdi
ti
on2015,byAtt
y.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.

VI
.

A.

OnePacifi
cAirl
i
ne’spoli
cieswast ohi
reonl
ysingl
eappli
cantsasfl
i
ghtat
tendants,
and
consi
deredasautomaticall
yresi
gnedthefl
i
ghtatt
endantsatthemomenttheygotmarr
ied.I
s
thepol
icyval
i
d?Explainyouranswer.(2.
5%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Thepol i
cyisnotv ali
d.Thepol icyisav i
olati
onoft heLaborCode’sprohi
bit
iononstipulat
ion
againstmar riageunderAr ti
cle134.Ther equirementt hatacompanypolicymustber easonable
undertheci rcumst ancestoqual ifyasav al
idexerciseofmanagementpr erogat
ivewasal soat
i
ssuei nthe1997caseofPhi l
i
ppi neTelegraphandTel ephoneCompanyv .NLRC, G.
R.No.
118978, May23, 1997.Insaidcase, t
heempl oyeewasdi smissedinviol
ati
onofpetiti
oner’s
poli
cyofdi squalifyi
ngf r
om wor kanywomanwor kerwhocontract
smar ri
age.TheSupr emeheld
thatthecompanypol i
cyv i
olatest heri
ghtagainstdiscri
minat
ionaffor
dedal l
womenwor kers
underArticle136( now134)oft heLaborCode.

NOTE:Thefor
egoinganswercanbefoundinpages623and627oft hebookent i
tl
edPrinci
ples
andCasesLaborStandar
dsandSoci
alLegi
slat
ion,Fi
rstEdi
ti
on2015,byAtty.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.
Thetopi
constipul
ati
onagai
nstmarr
iagehasbeent i
meandagainthesubjectmatterofbar
quest
ions,
mor
especi
fi
cal
l
ydur
ingt
he2012,
2010,
1997and1995BarExami
nat
ions.

B.

Tarci
siowasempl oyedasoper at
ionsmanagerandr eceiv
edamont hl
ysalaryofP25,000.
00
thr
oughhispay r
ollaccountwit
hDBBank.Heobt ainedaloanf r
om Robertotopurchaseacar.
Tarci
siof
ail
edt opayRober t
owhent heloanfell
due.Rober tosuedtocoll
ect,andmov edto
garni
shTarci
sio’spayrol
laccount.Thel
attervi
gorouslyobject
edandar guedthatsl
arieswere
exemptfrom garni
shment .I
sTarcisi
ocorrect
?Explainyouranswer.(3%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Tarci
soi snotcorr
ect
.InGaav .CourtofAppeal
s,G.
R.No.L- 44169December3,1985,the
SupremeCour trul
edthatArt
icl
e1708usedt heword" wages"andnot"sal
ary
"inrel
ati
onto
"l
aborer"whenitdecl
aredwhatar etobeexemptedfrom att
achmentandexecuti
on.The
mont hl
ysalaryofTar
cisi
oistherefor
esubjectt
ogarnishment.

NOTE:Theforegoinganswercanbefoundinpage450ofthebookenti
tl
edPri
nci
plesand
CasesLaborStandardsandSocial
Legisl
ati
on,
Fir
stEdi
ti
on2015,byAtt
y.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.The
topi
conthedisti
ncti
onbetweensalar
yandwagehasbeent hesubj
ectmatt
erofbarquest
ions
duri
ngthe1994BarExami nat
ion.

VI
I

Dr .Cri
sostomoent eredint oaretaineragr eementwi t
hABHot elandResor twher ebyhewoul d
prov i
demedi calservicestotheguest sandempl oy
eesofABHot elandResor t
,whi ch, i
nturn,
woul dprov i
det hecl i
nicpremisesandmedi calsuppli
es.Her eceivedamont hl
yr et ainerfeeof
P60, 000.
00, plusa70%shar eintheser v i
cechargesfrom ABHot elandResor t
’sguest savail
ing
themsel vesoft hecl i
nic’
sser vi
ces.Thecl i
nicemployednur sesandal l
iedstaff,whosesal aries,
SSScont ri
but i
onsandot herbenef i
tsheunder t
ooktopay .ABHot elandResor tissueddi rectives
giv i
nginstructi
onst ohi m onther eplenishmentofemer gencykit
sandf or
biddingt hecl i
nicst aff
from receivingcashpay ment sfr
om guest s.Inti
me, t
henur sesandt hecli
nicst af fclaimed
ent i
tl
ementt orightsasr egul
arempl oyeesofABHot elnadResort ,butthelatterr ef usedont he
groundt hatDr .Cr i
sostomo, whowast heiremployer,wasani ndependentcont ract or .Rul
e, with
reasons.( 4%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Thetestofi
ndependentcontr
act
orshi
pwasappli
edinthecaseofPoly
foam-RGCInt
ernat
ional
Corpor
ati
onv.Concepcion,G.
R.No.172349,
June13,2012.Thus,
theHighCour
trul
ed:

Thet estofindependentcontr
actor
shipis“whetheronecl ai
mingtobeani ndependent
contractorhascontract
edtodot heworkaccor di
ngtohi sownmet hodsandwi thoutbeing
subjecttothecont r
oloftheemployer,
exceptonlyastot heresul
tsofthewor k.
”(SanMi guel
Corpor at
ionv.Aball
a,G.R.No.149011,June28, 2005,461SCRA392, 421)InSanMi guel
Corpor at
ionv.Semill
ano,G.R.No.164257,July5,2010,623SCRA114t heCourtlaiddownt he
cri
teriaindeter
mi ni
ngtheexist
enceofani ndependentandper mi
ssibl
econt r
actorrelat
ionship,
t
owi
t:

“xxx[ W]hetherornott hecontractoriscarryi

ngonani ndependentbusiness;thenatureand
extentoft hewor k;theskil
lrequired;theterm anddur ationoftherelati
onship;theri
ghtto
assignt heper f
ormanceofaspeci f
iedpieceofwor k;thecontrolandsuper v
isionofthewor kto
anot her;t
heempl oy er’
spowerwi thr especttothehi r
ing, f
ir
ingandpay mentoft hecont r
actor
’s
wor kers;thecontrol oft
hepr emises; t
hedutyt osuppl ythepremises, t
ools,appli
ances,
mat erial
s,andlabor ;andthemode, mannerandt ermsofpay ment.”(SanMi guelCorporati
onv.
Semi ll
ano, supra,atp.124;Sasan, Sr.v.Nati
onal LaborRel ati
onsCommi ssi
on4t hDivisi
on,
supr aatp.691)

Applyi
ngtheabove-t
est,t
henursesareemploy
eesofDr.Cr
isostomo.Thefact
shadclearl
y
stat
edthatDr.Cr
isostomowast heonepayi
ngthesal
ari
esofthenursesandevenreport
ed
them f
orSSScoverage.Theelementofpaymentofwagesi
spr esent
.

NOTE: Thef oregoinganswercanbef oundi npage497oft hebookent it

ledPrincipl
esand
CasesLaborSt andardsandSoci alLegislation,Fi
rstEdit
ion2015, byAtty.Volt
ai r
eT.Duano.The
topi
cont hedi sti
nctionbet weensal aryandwagehasbeent hesubjectmat t
erofbarquest ions
duri
ngt he1994BarExami nat
ion.Thepr obl em canalsober esolvedbycharact eri
zi
ngt he
rel
ati
onshipofDr .CrisostomoandABHot elandResor tastowhet heriti
sal egiti
mat e
contr
act i
ngorl abor-onlycontracti
ng.Thet opiconcont r
acting/subcontr
acti
nghasbeent i
me
andagai nthesubj ectmat terofbarquest ions,mor especifi
call
ydur i
ngthe2016, 2014,2013,
2012,2011, 2009, 2004, 2002,2001, 2000, 1997and1994BarExami nati
ons

SUGGESTEDANSWERSTOTHE2017BAREXAMI
NATI
ONSI
NLABORANDSOCI
AL
LEGI
SLATION:
PARTTWO:

VI
II

MarcianowashiredasChiefEngineeronboar dthevesselM/VAustral
ia.Hiscontractof
employmentwasf orni
nemont hs.Afterni
nemont hs,hewasr e-
hir
ed.Hewashi r
edat hir
dtime
aft
eranotherni
nemont hs.Henowcl aimsentitl
ementtothebenefit
sofar egularemployee
basedonhisperformedtasksusuallynecessaryanddesir
abletotheemploy er
’sbusinessfora
conti
nuousperi
odofmor ethanoney ear
.IsMar ci
ano’
sclai
mt enabl
e?Explain.

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Marciano’sclai
misnott enabl
e.TheSupremeCourtsquar elypassedupont hei
ssueinMi l
lares
v.NLRC, G.R.No.110524,July29,2002,
whereoneoft heissuesr aisedwaswhetherseafarers
areregularorcontr
actualemployeeswhoseemploymentar et er
mi natedev
eryt
imet hei
r
contract
sofempl oymentexpire.TheSupremeCourtexplained:

[I
]ti
sclearthatseafar
ersareconsi
deredcontractualempl oyees.Theycannotbeconsideredas
regul
arempl oyeesunderArt
icl
e280oft heLaborCode.Thei rempl oymentisgovernedbythe
contr
actstheysigneveryt
imetheyarerehir
edandt heiremploymentister
mi nat
edwhent he
contr
actexpires.Thei
remploymentiscontractual
lyfixedforacer t
ainper
iodoftime.Theyfal
l
undertheexcepti
onofAr t
icl
e280whoseempl oymenthasbeenf ixedforaspecif
icproj
ector
undertaki
ngthecompleti
onorterminat
ionofwhichhasbeendet erminedattheti
meof
engagementoftheempl oyeeorwheretheworkorservi
cestobeper formedisseasonalin
natureandtheemploymentisforthedurat
ionoftheseason.Weneednotdepar tfrom t
he
ruli
ngsoftheCourtinthetwoafor
ement i
onedcaseswhichindeedconst i
tut
estaredeci
siswi
th
respecttotheemploymentstat
usofseafarer
s.

NOTE:Theforegoi
nganswercanbef oundinpage739oft hebookenti
tl
edPri
nci
plesand
CasesLaborRelat
ions,
FirstEdi
ti
on2016,byAt
ty.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.Thetopi
contheseafarer
s
hasbeenti
meandagai nt hesubj
ectmatt
erofbarquest
ions,morespeci
fi
cal
l
yduringthe2014
and2002BarExami nat
ions.

I
X

Sect
ion255(245)oftheLaborCoderecogni
zest
hreecat
egor
iesofempl
oyees,
namel
y:
manageri
al,
superv
isory
,andrank-
and-f
il
e.

(a)Gi
vethechar
act
eri
sti
csofeachcategor
yofempl oyees,
andstat
ewhethert
heempl
oyeesi
n
eachcat
egorymayorgani
zedandfor
m unions.Expl
ainyouranswer
.(5%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

UnderAr
ti
cle255[
245]oft
heLaborCodet
hef
oll
owi
ngar
epr
ovi
ded:

Manager
ial
empl
oyeesar
enotel
i
gibl
etoj
oin,
assi
storf
orm anyl
aboror
gani
zat
ion.

Supervi
sor yemployeesshallnotbeeligiblef
ormembershipinthecol
lect
ivebargaininguni
tof
therank-and-fi
l
eempl oy
eesbutmayj oin,assi
storf
orm separat
ecoll
ecti
vebargainingunit
s
and/orlegiti
matelabororganizat
ionsoft hei
rown.

Ther
ank-
and-
fi
leunionandthesupervi
sor
s’uni
onoper
ati
ngwi
thi
nthesameest
abl
i
shmentmay
j
oint
hesamefederati
onornati
onaluni
on.

(b)Mayconfidential
employeeswhoassi stmanageri
alempl oy
ees,andwhoacti naconfident
ial
capaci
tyorhav eaccesstoconfidenti
almatter
sbei
nghandl edbypersonsexerci
sing
managerial
functionsint
hef i
eldoflaborrel
ati
onsfor
m, orassist
,orjoi
nlaborunions?Expl
ain
youranswer?(2.5%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

No.InTunaynaPagkakaisangManggagawasaAsi aBreweryv.Asi
aBrewery,I
nc.
,G.R.No.
162025,August3,2010,t
heHighCourtexpl
ained,whoarethoseconfi
dent
ialemploy
ees
cover
edbyt heprohi
bit
iontoj
oin,
for
m andassi stanyl
abororgani
zat
ionunderArt
icl
e245[now
255]oft
heLaborCode, asfol
l
ows:

Confi
denti
alemployeesaredefi
nedasthosewho(1)assi
storacti
naconfi
denti
alcapaci
ty,
(2)
topersonswhoformulat
e,deter
mine,
andef f
ect
uatemanagementpol
ici
esi
nt hefi
eldofl
abor
rel
ati
ons.Thetwo(2)cri
teri
aarecumulat
ive,
andbothmustbemetifanemployeeistobe
consideredaconf i
dent i
alemployeethatis,theconf i
dentialrelati
onshipmustexi stbetweent he
employ eeandhissuper visor
,andthesuper visormusthandl et hepr escribedresponsibil
i
ties
rel
ati
ngt olaborrel
ations.Theexclusionfrom bar gaininguni tsofempl oy eeswho, i
nthenor mal
courseoft hei
rduti
es, becomeawar eofmanagementpol ici
esr elat
ingt olaborrelati
onsisa
pri
ncipalobjecti
vesoughtt obeaccompl i
shedbyt heconf ident i
alempl oyeerule.(SanMi guel
Corp.Super vi
sorsandExemptEmpl oy eesUni onv .Laguesma, G.R.No.110399, August15,
1997, 277SCRA370, 374-375,ci
ti
ngWest i
nghouseEl ectricCor p.v.NLRB( CA6)398F2d669
(1968),LadishCo.,178NLRB90( 1969)andB. F.Goodr i
chCo. , 115NLRB722[ 1956])

NOTE: Thefor
egoinganswercanbef oundinpage273oft hebookenti
tl
edPrinci
plesand
CasesLaborRelati
ons,Fi
rstEdit
ion2016,byAtty
.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.Thetopiconthe
confi
denti
alemployeescoveredbytheprohi
bit
ionhasbeent i
meandagainthesubj ectmat
ter
ofbarquesti
ons,morespecifi
call
yduri
ngthe2014,2011,2009,2002and1999Bar
Examinati
ons.

X.

A.

Thelaborsectorhasbeenloudlyagitat
ingf
ortheendofl abor-
onlycont
ract
ing,asdi
sti
nguished
from j
obcontract
ing.Expl
ainthesetwokindsoflaborcontract
ing,gi
vetheeff
ectofafi
nding
thatoneisalabor-onl
ycontract
or.Expl
ainyouranswers.(4%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

TheSupremeCourti
nPol y
f oam-RGCInt er
nat
ional
Corpor
ati
onvs.Concepci
on,G.R.No.172349,
June13,2012ci
ti
ngSasan, Sr.v.Nat
ionalLaborRel
ati
onsCommission4thDivi
sion,
G.R.No.
176240,Oct
ober17,
2008, 569SCRA670di sti
ngui
shedper
missi
blej
obcontracti
ngor
subcont
ract
ingf
rom “
labor-only
”contracti
ng,t
owit:

“Permissiblej
obcontracti
ngorsubcontractingrefer
st oanar rangementwherebyaprincipal
agreestoputoutorf arm outtoacontractororsubcont ract
ort heperf
ormanceorcompl etionof
aspecifi
cj ob,workorservi
cewi t
hinadefiniteorpredeterminedperiod,r
egardl
essofwhet her
suchjob, workorservi
ceistobeper f
ormedorcompl et
edwi thinoroutsi
dethepremisesoft he
pri
ncipal.Apersonisconsideredengagedi nlegi
ti
mat ejobcont ract
ingorsubcont
racti
ngi fthe
fol
lowingcondi t
ionsconcur:

(a)Thecont r
actororsubcontr
actorcar
ri
esonadi sti
nctandi
ndependentbusi
nessand
undertakestoperformthejob,workorser
viceonitsownaccountandunderit
sown
responsibi
li
tyaccordi
ngtoitsownmannerandmet hod,andf
reefrom t
hecontr
olanddi
rect
ion
ofthepr i
nci
palinallmatt
ersconnectedwit
ht heperf
ormanceoftheworkexceptastot
he
resul
tsthereof;

(
b)Thecont
ract
ororsubcont
ract
orhassubst
ant
ial
capi
tal
ori
nvest
ment
;and

(c)Theagreementbet
weenthepri
nci
palandcont
ract
ororsubcont
ractorassur
esthe
contr
actualempl
oyeesent
it
lementt
oall
laborandoccupat
ional
safet
yandhealthstandar
ds,
f
reeexer
ciseoft
her
ightt
osel
f-
organi
zat
ion,
secur
it
yoft
enur
e,andsoci
alandwel
far
ebenef
it
s.

Incontrast,
labor
-onl
ycontract
ing,
apr ohi
bit
edact,i
sanarrangementwherethecont
ractoror
subcontractormerel
yrecr
uits,
suppli
esorplacesworker
stoper f
orm ajob,
workorserv
icefora
pri
ncipal.I
nlabor
-onl
ycontracti
ng,t
hef ol
l
owingelementsarepresent
:

(a)Thecont
ract
ororsubcont
ract
ordoesnothav
esubstant
ialcapi
talorinvest
mentt
oact
ual
l
y
perfor
mthejob,wor
korservi
ceunderi
tsownaccountandresponsibi
li
ty;and

(b)Theemployeesrecrui
ted,
suppli
edorplacedbysuchcontract
ororsubcontr
actorare
perf
ormingacti
vit
ieswhicharedi
rectl
yrel
atedtothemainbusinessofthepr
incipal
.”(
Sasan,Sr
.
v.Nati
onalLaborRelat
ionsCommi ssi
on4thDivi
sion,
supra,
atpp.689-690.[
Citati
onsomitt
ed])

I
nPCIAutomat
ionCent
er,
Inc.v.NLRC,G.
R.No.115920,Januar
y29,
1996,
theef
fectofa
f
indi
ngt
hatoneisal
abor-
onlycontr
act
orwasruledasfoll
ows:

Inl
egi t
imatej obcont r
acting,noempl oyer-
employ eer el
ati
onshipexistsbetweentheempl oy
ees
ofthejobcont ractorandt hepr i
ncipalemployer.Ev enthen,theprinci
palemployerbecomes
j
ointl
yandsev erall
yliablewiththejobcont r
actorfort hepay mentoftheempl oyees’wages
whenev erthecont ractorfail
stopayt hesame.I nsuchcase, thelawcreatesanempl oyer
-
empl oyeerelationshipbet weent heprinci
palempl oy erandthejobcont r
actor
’sempl oy
eesfora
l
imitedpur pose, thatis,toensuret hattheemploy eesar epaidtheirwages.Otherthanthe
paymentofwages, thepr i
ncipalemployerisnotresponsi bl
ef oranyclai
m madebyt he
empl oyees.(Phi l
ippineBankofCommuni cati
onsv s.NLRC, 146SCRA347[ 1986])

Ontheot herhand,i
nl abor -
onlycont
racti
ng,anempl oyer
-empl oy eerelati
onshi piscreatedby
l
awbet weent hepri
nci palempl oy
erandtheempl oy eesoft helabor -
onl ycontractor.I
nthiscase,
thelabor -
onlycontr
act orisconsider
edmer elyanagentoft hepr i
ncipalempl oyer.Thepr i
nci
pal
empl oyerisresponsi
bl et otheemployeesofthel abor-
onlycont ract
orasi fsuchempl oyeeshad
beendi rectl
yemployedbyt hepr i
nci
palemploy er
.Thepr incipal empl oyerthereforebecomes
soli
daril
yl i
ablewit
ht hel abor-
onlycontr
actorforalltheri
ght fulclaimsoft heempl oyees.
(Phi
lippineBankofCommuni cati
onsvs.NLRC, 146SCRA347[ 1986] )

Thus,i
nlegit
imatejobcontr
acti
ng,t
hepri
nci
palempl
oyerisconsider
edonl yanindir
ect
employer,
(Art
icl
e107,LaborCode,asamended)whi
l
einlabor-
onlycontracti
ng,thepri
nci
pal
employeri
sconsideredthedir
ectempl
oyeroft
heemployees.(
lastparagraphofArti
cle106,
LaborCode,asamended)

I
nshort,
thelegit
imatejobcontr
actorprovidesservi
ceswhilet
helabor-
onlycont
ract
orpr
ovides
onl
ymanpower .Thelegit
imat
ejobcont ractorunder
takestoper
form aspecif
icj
obfort
he
pri
nci
palemployerwhil
ethelabor-
onlycont ract
ormerelypr
ovi
desthepersonnelt
oworkforthe
pri
nci
palemployer.

NOTE:Theforegoi
nganswercanbef oundinpages507508ofthebookentit
ledPrinci
plesand
CasesLaborRelat
ions,Fi
rstEdi
ti
on2016, byAt
ty.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.Thetopi
conj ob-
cont
ract
ingandlabor-onl
ycontr
acti
nghasbeent imeandagainthesubj
ectmat t
erofbar
quest
ions,
morespeci
fi
call
yduri
ngthe2014,
2013,
2012,
2011,
2009,
2004,
2002,
2001,
2000,
1997and1994BarExaminati
ons.

B.

Whatar
ethegr
oundsf
orv
ali
dlyt
ermi
nat
ingt
heser
vicesofanempl
oyeebasedonaj
ustcause?
(
5%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Anempl
oyermayt
ermi
nat
eanempl
oymentf
oranyoft
hef
oll
owi
ngcauses:

(a)Ser
iousmisconductorwil
lf
uldi
sobedi
encebyt
heempl
oyeeoft
hel
awf
ulor
der
sofhi
s
employerorr
epresentat
ivei
nconnect
ionwit
hhiswor
k;

(
b)Gr
ossandhabi
tual
negl
ectbyt
heempl
oyeeofhi
sdut
ies;

(c)Fraudorwil
l
fulbr
eachbyt
heempl
oyeeoft
het
rustr
eposedi
nhi
m byhi
sempl
oyerordul
y
authori
zedrepr
esent
ati
ve;

(d)Commissi
onofacr
imeoroff
ensebyt
heempl
oyeeagai
nstthepersonofhi
sempl
oyeror
anyimmediat
ememberofhi
sfamil
yorhi
sdul
yaut
hori
zedrepr
esentati
ves;
and

(
e)Ot
hercausesanal
ogoust
othef
oregoi
ng.(
Art
.297[
282]
,LaborCode)

NOTE:Thef or
egoi
nganswercanbef oundinpages899-890ofthebookenti
tl
edPrinci
plesand
CasesLaborRelat
ions,Fi
rstEdi
ti
on2016, byAt
ty.Volt
air
eT.Duano.Thetopi
cont hejustcause
fort
erminat
ionhasbeent i
meandagai nthesubjectmatt
erofbarquesti
ons,
mor especif
ical
ly
duri
ngthe2015,2014,2013,2012,2011,2009,
2008,2006,2003,2001,
1995,1996,1995,1999
BarExaminati
ons.

C.

Gi
vetheprocedur
etobeobser
vedf
orv
ali
dlyt
ermi
nat
ingt
heser
vicesofanempl
oyeebasedon
aj
ustcause?(4%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Asdefi
nedinAr
ti
cle297oftheLaborCode,asamended,
ther
equi
rementoft
wowr
it
tennot
ices
ser
vedontheemployeeshal
lobser
vethefoll
owi
ng:

(
a)Thef
ir
stwr
it
tennot
iceshoul
dcont
ain:

1.Thespeci
fi
ccausesorgroundsf
orterminati
onaspr
ovi
dedf
orunderAr
ti
cle297oft
heLabor
Code,asamended,andcompanypoli
cies,
ifany;

2.Det
ail
ednar
rat
ionofthefactsandcircumst
ancesthatwil
lserv
easbasisf
ort
hechar
ge
agai
nstt
heemployee.Ageneraldescr
ipti
onofthechargewil
lnotsuf
fi
ce;
and
3.Adirect
ivet
hatt
heempl
oyeei
sgi
venoppor
tuni
tyt
osubmi
tawr
it
tenexpl
anat
ionwi
thi
na
reasonabl
eperi
od.

“Reasonableperiod”shouldbeconstruedasaper i
odofatleastfiv
e( 5)cal
endardaysfr
om
receiptofthenoticetogivetheemployeeanopportuni
tytostudytheaccusation,
consultorbe
representedbyal awyerorunionoff
icer,gat
herdat
aandev idence,anddecideonthedefenses
againstthecompl aint
.(Uni
leverv
.Rivera,G.
R.No.201701,June3, 2013;Sect
ion12,DOLE
Depar t
mentOr der18-A)

(b)Af
terserv
ingthefi
rstnot
ice,theemployershouldaffor
dt heemployeeampleopportuni
tyt
o
beheardandt odef
endhimself/hersel
fwit
ht heassi
stanceofhis/herr
epresent
ati
veifhe/she
sodesir
es,asprovi
dedinArti
cle299( b)oftheLaborCode, asamended.

“Ampleopport
unitytobehear d”meansanymeani ngfulopportunity(verbalorwrit
ten)gi
vent o
theemployeetoanswert hechar gesagainsthi
m/herandsubmi tev i
dencei nsupportofhis/her
defense,
whetherinahear ing,confer
enceorsomeot herfair
,justandr easonableway.Af or
mal
heari
ngorconferencebecomesmandat oryonl
ywhenr equestedbyt heempl oyeeinwrit
ingor
substant
ial
evi
dent i
arydisputesexistoracompanyr uleorpracticerequi resi
t,orwhensimilar
cir
cumstancesjusti
fyit
.(Perezv .PT&T,G.R.No.152048,April7, 2009, Secti
on12,DOLE
DepartmentOrder18-A)

(c)Afterdet
ermini
ngthatter
mi nat
ionofemploymentisjusti
fied,theemployershal
lser
vethe
empl oyeeawrit
tennoti
ceofterminati
onindi
cati
ngthat:
( 1)allci
rcumstancesinvol
vi
ngthe
chargeagainstt
heempl oy
eehav ebeenconsider
ed;and( 2)thegr oundshavebeenestabl
i
shed
tojusti
fythesever
anceoftheiremployment.

Thefor
egoi
ngnoti
cesshal
lbeserv
edpersonal
l
ytotheempl
oyeeortotheempl
oyee’
slast
knownaddr
ess.(
Sect
ion5,5.
1,Rul
eI-
A,D.O.No.147-
15,
Ser
iesof2015)

NOTE: Thef or
egoi nganswercanbefoundinpages899-890ofthebookent i
tl
edPri
ncipl
esand
CasesLaborRel at
ions,Fi
rstEdi
ti
on2016,byAtt
y.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.Thet opi
conthe
proceduralduepr ocesshasbeentimeandagainthesubjectmatt
erofbarquesti
ons,more
specif
icall
yduringt he2012,2009,
2006,1999and1998BarExami nat
ions.

XI

A.

Themodesofdeterminingtheexclusi
vebargai
ningagentoftheemployeesi
nabusinessar
e:(a)
vol
untar
yrecogni
ti
on;(b)cert
if
icat
ionelect
ion;
and(c)consentel
ect
ion.Expl
ainhowtheydi
ff
er
fr
om oneanother
.(4%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Voluntar
yRecognit
ionrefer
stotheprocessbywhichal egi
ti
matelaborunionisrecognizedby
theemployerastheexclusi
vebargai
ningrepr
esent
ativeoragenti
nabar gaini
ngunit,repor
ted
withtheRegi
onalOffi
ceinaccordancewithRuleVI
I,Secti
on2oftheseRul es.Cert
if
icati
on
Elect
ion”orConsentElect
ionrefer
stotheprocessofdeterminingt
hroughsecretballott
hesole
andexclusi
verepresentat
iveoftheemployeesinanappropri
atebargai
ningunitforpurposesof
coll
ecti
vebargaini
ngornegotiat
ion.Acert
ifi
cati
onelect
ionisorder
edbyt heDepar t
ment,whil
e
aconsentelecti
onisvoluntar
il
yagreeduponbyt hepart
ies,
wi t
horwithouttheinter
venti
onby
theDepartment.(Rul
eI,Secti
on1,BookV, RulestoI
mplementt heLaborCode)

NOTE:Theforegoi
nganswercanbef oundinpages21and22oft hebookenti
tl
edPrinci
ples
andCasesLaborRelat
ions,
Fir
stEdit
ion2016,byAtt
y.Volt
air
eT.Duano.Thetopiconthe
repr
esent
ati
onissuehasbeentimeandagainthesubjectmatt
erofbarquest
ions,more
speci
fi
cal
lyduri
ngthe2006,2004,
and2000BarExami nati
ons.

B.

Mar celwast heVicePr esidentforFinanceandAdmi nistrationandamemberoft heBoar dof

Director
sofMer cedesCor por at
ion.Hebr oughtacompl aintforillegalsuspensi onandil
legal
dismissalagainstMer cedesCor porat
ion,whichmov edt odi smi sst hecompl aintonthegr ound
thatthecompl aintpertai
nedt ot hejur
isdicti
onoftheRTCduet ot hecont r
over sybeing
i
nt r
acorporatebasedonhi sposi ti
onsint hecorpor
ation.Mar cel counteredthathehadonl y
beenr emov edasVi cePr esidentforFinanceandAdmi nistrati
on, notasamemberoft heBoar d
ofDi r
ector
s.Heal soarguedt hathisposi ti
onwasnotl istedasamongt hecor porateoff
icesin
Mer cedesCor porati
on’sby -
law.Isthear gumentofMar cel correct ?Expl
ainyouranswer .(2.5%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Marcel
’scontent
ioni
scorrect
.Iti
ssett
ledinMatl
ingI
ndust
ri
alandCommercial
Corpor
ati
onv
.
Coros,G.
R.No.157802,13October2010,ci
tedi
nMarcIIMarket
ingI
nc.v
.Joson,G.
R.No.
171993,December12,2011,wherei
theld,t
hus:

ConformablywithSection25,aposi t
ionmustbeexpresslymentionedi nthe[b]y-
[l
]awsi nor der
tobeconsideredasacor porateoffi
ce.Thus,t
hecreati
onofanof f
icepursuanttoorundera[ b]
y
-[
l]
awenabl i
ngprovisi
onisnotenought omakeapositionacorporateof f
ice.[
In]Guer reav.
Lezama[ ci
tat
ionomi tt
ed]thefir
strul
ingonthemat t
er,hel
dthattheonl yoffi
cersofa
corporat
ionwerethosegi v
ent hatcharact
erei
therbytheCorporati
onCodeorbyt he[ b]y
-[l
]aws;
therestofthecorporateoffi
cerscouldbeconsider
edonlyasempl oy eesorsubor dinate
off
icial
s.

xxx

I
tisrel
evantt
ostatei
nthi
sconnect
ionthatt
heSEC, thepr
imar
yagencyadmini
ster
ingt
he
Corpor
ati
onCode,adopt
edasimil
arint
erpr
etat
ionofSecti
on25oftheCorpor
ati
onCodeini
ts
Opini
ondatedNovember25,
1993[cit
ati
onomitted]
,towit
:

Thus,pursuanttotheabovepr ovi
sion( Section25oft heCor por
ati
onCode) ,whoeverarethe
corpor
ateof f
icer
senumer atedintheby -l
awsar etheexcl usiveOff
icersofthecorpor
ationand
theBoardhasnopowert ocr eat
eot herOf f
iceswithoutamendi ngfir
stthecorporat
e[b]y-
laws.
Howev er
,theBoardmaycr eateappointivepositi
onsot herthanthepositi
onsofcorporate
Officers,butthepersonsoccupy i
ngsuchposi tionsarenotconsi deredascor porat
eof f
icers
withinthemeani ngofSect i
on25oft heCor por ati
onCodeandar enotempower edtoexer ci
se
t
hef uncti
onsoft hecorporat
eOf f
icers,exceptt hosefunct
ionslawf ull
ydelegat
edt othem.Their
funct i
onsanddut iesaretobedet er
mi nedbyt heBoar dofDirect
or s/Trust
ees.(Matli
ng
I
ndust rialandCommer ci
alCorporat
ionv .Coros, supr
aat26-27)[ Emphasissuppl i
ed.
]

Withthegivenci r
cumst ancesandi nconformi
tywit
hMat li
ngI
ndustr
ialandCommercial
Corporat
ionv .Coros,Mar celwasnotacor por
ateoff
icerofMer
cedesCor por
ati
onbecausehi
s
posit
ionasVi cePr esi
dentf orFi
nanceandAdmi ni
str
ationwasnotspecif
ical
l
ymenti
onedinthe
rost
erofcor porateoffi
cersi ni
tscorpor
ateby-l
aws.

NOTE:Theforegoinganswercanbef oundinpage46ofthebookent i
tl
edPr i
nci
plesandCases
LaborRel
ati
ons, Fi
rstEdi
ti
on2016,byAtty.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.Thetopi
cont heonwhet heran
posi
ti
onisacor porateof
fi
cerhasbeent i
meandagainthesubjectmatterofbarquest
ions,
morespeci
fi
callyduringt
he2015,2014,2011and1996BarExami nati
ons.

C.

St
atet
hejuri
sdi
cti
onoft
heVol
unt
aryAr
bit
rat
or,
orPanel
ofVol
unt
aryAr
bit
rat
orsi
nlabor
di
sput
es?(4%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Thevol
untar
yarbi
tr
atororpanel
ofvol
unt
aryar
bit
ratorsshal
lhav
eexcl
usi
veandor
igi
nal
j
uri
sdi
cti
ontohearanddecideal
lunr
esol
vedgr
ievancesari
singf
rom:

1.Theimplementati
onorint
erpr
etat
ionoft
hecol
l
ecti
vebar
gai
ningagreements;
(Ar
ti
cle274
[
261],LaborCode,Sect
ion4,Rul
eXIX,BookV,
OmnibusRul
esI
mpl ementi
ngtheLaborCode)

2.Theinter
pret
ati
onorenforcementofcompanyper sonnelpol
ici
eswhichr
emai
nunresol
ved
aft
erexhausti
onofthegri
evanceprocedur
e;(Art
icl
e274[ 261],
LaborCode,
Sect
ion4,
RuleXI
X,
BookV, OmnibusRulesI
mplementingtheLaborCode)

3.Wagedistor
ti
onissuesari
singf
rom theappl
icati
onofanywageor
dersi
norganized
est
abli
shments;(
par.4,Ar
ti
cle124,LaborCode,Secti
on4,Rul
eXI
X,BookV,OmnibusRul
es
Impl
ementingtheLaborCode)

4.Thei
nter
pret
ati
onandi
mpl
ement
ati
onoft
hepr
oduct
ivi
tyi
ncent
ivepr
ogr
amsunderRA6971.

5.Uponagr eementofthepar
ti
es,shal
lal
sohearanddeci deal
lotherlabordi
sputesi
ncludi
ng
unfai
rlaborpract
icesandbar
gaini
ngdeadlocks.(
Arti
cle275.[
262],LaborCode,Sect
ion4,Rul
e
XIX,BookV, OmnibusRulesI
mplementi
ngt heLaborCode)

6.Vi
olati
onsofaCol l
ect
iveBar
gaini
ngAgreement
,exceptt
hosewhichar
egrossincharact
er,
shal
lnolongerbetreat
edasunfairl
aborpr
acti
ceandshall
beresol
vedasgr
ievancesunderthe
Coll
ecti
veBargai
ningAgreement;
(Art
icl
e274.[
261],
LaborCode)

NOTE:
Thef
oregoi
nganswercanbef
oundi
npage442oft
hebookent
it
ledPr
inci
plesand
CasesLaborRelati
ons,Fi
rstEdi
ti
on2016,byAtt
y.Volt
air
eT.Duano.Thet
opi
conjuri
sdi
cti
onof
thevolunt
aryar
bitr
ator
sorpanelofvol
untar
yarbi
trat
orshasbeenti
meandagaint
hesubject
matterofbarquesti
ons,morespeci
fi
cal
lydur
ingthe2008,2001,
1997and1995Bar
Examinati
ons.

XI
I

A.

Juani
toini
tiatedacasef ori l
legaldismi
ssalagai
nstMandari
nCompany.TheLaborAr bit
er
deci
dedinhi sf avor,
andor deredhisimmediaterei
nstat
ementwit
hful
lbackwagesandwi thout
l
ossofsenior i
tyandot herbenef it
s.Mandari
nCompanydi dnotl
i
ketoall
owhim backi nit
s
premi
sestopr eventhimf rom infl
uenci
nghisco-
wor ker
stomoveagai
nsttheint
erestofthe
company;hence, itdirectedhi spayrol
lrei
nst
atementandpaidhi
sful
lbackwagesandot her
benef
it
sev enasi tappeal edtot heNLRC.

Afewmonthsl
ater
,theNLRCrever
sedtherul
i
ngoftheLaborAr
bit
eranddecl
aredt
hat
Juani
to’
sdi
smi
ssalwasvali
d.Therev
ersal
ult
imat
elybecamefi
nal
.

MayMandari
nCompanyrecovert
hebackwagesandot
herbenef
it
spai
dt oJuani
topursuantto
t
hedeci
sionoft
heLaborArbi
teri
nvi
ewoftherever
sal
bytheNLRC?Rule,wi
threasons.(
2.5%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

MandarinCompanycannotr ecoverthebackwagesandot herbenefit

spaidtoJuani t
opur suant
tothedecisi
onoft heLaborAr bi
terdespitet
hereversalbytheNLRC.Ther efunddoct ri
nehas
alr
eadybeenr ever
sedinGar ciav.Phil
ippi
neAir
li
nes, I
nc.,
G.R.No.164856, July20,2009, wher
e
theSupremeCour tthenst ressedthatasopposedt otheabov ementi
onedGenui nov.Nat i
onal
LaborRelati
onsCommi ssion, G.
R.Nos.142732-33&142753- 54,December4, 2007,539SCRA
342thesocialjust
iceprinciplesoflaborlawoutweighorrenderinappl
icabl
et hecivi
llaw
doctr
ineofunjustenri
chment .

NOTE: Thef
oregoi
nganswercanbef oundinpages636-
638ofthebookenti
tl
edPr
incipl
esand
CasesLaborRelat
ions,Fir
stEdit
ion2016,byAtt
y.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.Thet
opi
conrefund
doctr
inewasaskedf orthefi
rstt
imeforthisy
ear’
sbarexaminat
ions.

B.

Geneisamar ri
edr egul
aremployeeofMat i
bayCor poration.Theempl oyeeandMat ibay
Corporati
onhadanexi st
ingCBAt hatprovi
dedf orfuner alorbereavementaidofP15, 000.
00i
n
caseofthedeat hofal egaldependentofar egularempl oy ee.Hiswidowedmot her,
whohad
beenlivi
ngwithhim andhi sfamilyformanyy ears,died; hence,heclai
medthef uneralai
d.
MatibayCorporationdeniedtheclai
m ont hebasi sthatshehadnotbeenhi slegaldependent
s
asthetermlegal dependentwasdef i
nedbyt heSocial Secur i
tyLaw.

(
a)Whomaybet
hel
egal
dependent
sofGeneundert
heSoci
alSecur
it
yLaw?(
2.5%)
SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Sect
ion8(
e)oft
heSoci
alSecur
it
yLawpr
ovi
dest
hatt
hedependent
sshal
lbet
hef
oll
owi
ng:

(
1)Thel
egal
spouseent
it
ledbyl
awt
orecei
vesuppor
tfr
om t
hemember
;

(2)Thelegi
ti
mat e,legi
ti
matedorlegal
lyadopt
ed,andil
legi
ti
matechi
ldwhoi sunmarri
ed,not
gainf
ull
yempl oy
ed, andhasnotreachedtwenty-
one(21)year
sofage,ori
fov ert
wenty-
one(21)
yearsofage,heiscongeni t
all
yorwhil
estil
laminorhasbeenpermanentl
yincapaci
tat
edand
i
ncapableofself-support
,physi
cal
lyormental
ly;
and

(
3)Thepar
entwhoi
srecei
vi
ngr
egul
arsuppor
tfr
om t
hemember
.

NOTE:Theforegoinganswercanbefoundinpage862oft hebookentit
ledPr
incipl
esand
CasesLaborStandardsandSoci
alLegi
slat
ion,
Fir
stEdit
ion2015,byAtty.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.The
topi
condependent shasbeenti
meandagai nt
hesubjectmatterofbarquest
ions,more
speci
fi
cal
lyduri
ngt he2014and2002BarExaminati
ons.

(
b)I
sGeneent
it
ledt
othef
uner
alai
dfort
hedeat
hofhi
swi
dowedmot
her
?Expl
ainy
ouranswer
.
(
2%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Geneisenti
tl
edt ot
hef uner
alaidfort
hedeat hofhiswidowedmot herunderCBA.Thisi s
becausethesaidCBAcl ear
lyprovi
dedforfuneral
orber eavementaidofP15,000.
00i ncaseof
thedeathofalegaldependentofaregularemployee.Butinsof arastheSSSlawi sconcerned,
theonlywaythatGenecanr ecoveri
sthatifhewillqual
ifyastheprimarybenefi
ciar
yofhi s
widowedmot herpr
ov i
dedhehast herestr
ict
ionsont hedefini
ti
onofdependentchildren.

NOTE:Theforegoinganswercanbef oundinpages862-864ofthebookentit
ledPri
ncipl
esand
CasesLaborStandardsandSocialLegi
slati
on,Fi
rstEdi
ti
on2015,byAtt
y.Volt
aireT.Duanoin
sofarasthedefi
niti
onofbenefi
ciaryi
nrelati
ontodependent
sareconcerned.

C.

Rosawasgr antedvacationl eavebyherempl oyertospendthreeweeksi nAfr

icawi t
hherf ami
l
y.
Pri
ortoherdepar t
ure,t
heGener al
Manageroft hecompanyr equestedhertovisittheplantof
thecompanyi nZimbabwei nor dertoderi
vebestmanuf act
uringpracti
cesuseful t
ot he
company .Sheacceptedt her equestbecauset heerrandwouldbei mpor t
antt
ot hecompany
andZimbabwewasany wayi nheri t
iner
ary.Itappearsthatshecont r
actedaseriousdi sease
duri
ngthet r
ip.Uponherr eturn,shefil
edacl aimf orcompensation,i
nsi
stingt
hatshehad
contr
actedthediseasewhi leser vi
ngtheinterestofherempl oyer.

UndertheLaborCode,thesicknessordeat hofanemployee,
tobecompensable,musthave
resul
tedfrom anil
l
nesseit
herdef i
nit
ely,
acceptedasanoccupati
onaldi
seasebythe
Employee’sCompensati
onCommi ssion,orcausedbyemploymentsubj
ecttoprooft
hatther
isk
ofcontracti
ngthesameisincreasedbywor kingcondi
ti
ons.
Istheser
iousdi
seaseRosacont
ract
eddur
inghert
ri
ptoAf
ri
cacompensabl
e?Expl
ainy
our
answer.(
2.5%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

InGovernmentServi
ceInsuranceSystem v
s.Besit
an,
G.R.No.178901,
Nov
ember23,
2011,
expl
ainedtheconceptofincreasedt
heoryasfol
lows:

Corol
lar
il
y,f
orthesicknessorresul
ti
ngdisabil
it
yordeathtobecompensabl e,
theclai
mant
mustproveeit
her(1)thattheemployee’
ssicknesswastheresultofanoccupati
onaldi
sease
l
ist
edunderAnnex“ A”oftheAmendedRul esonEmpl oyees’
Compensat i
on,or(2)t
hattheri
sk
ofcontr
acti
ngthediseasewasi ncr
easedbyhisworkingcondit
ions.

Cer
tai
ntyi
snotr
equi
redonl
ypr
obabi
l
ity

Undertheincreasedr isktheory,
theremustbear easonabl eproofthattheempl oyee’swor king
condit
ionincreasedhi sri
skofcont r
acti
ngthedisease, orthatthereisaconnect i
onbet weenhi s
workandt hecauseoft hedisease.(Castor-
Garupav .Empl oyees’Compensat ionCommi ssion,
G.R.No.158268, Apr i
l12,2006,487SCRA171, 180)Onl yareasonablepr oofofwor k-
connecti
on,notdi r
ectcausal rel
ation,however,
isrequiredt oestabli
shcompensabi l
ityofanon-
occupati
onal disease.( GovernmentSer vi
ceInsuranceSy stem v.Cordero,G.R.Nos.171378&
171388,Mar ch17, 2009,581SCRA633, 640)Probabili
ty,andnotcer tai
nty,i
st hey ardsti
ckin
compensat i
onpr oceedings;thus,anydoubtshoul dbei nter
pretedinfavoroft heempl oyeesf or
whom social l
egislat i
ons,li
kePDNo.626, wereenact ed.(GovernmentSer viceInsur ance
System v.Corrales, G.R.No.166261, June27,2008, 556SCRA230, 243-244)

Applyi
ngtheaboverul
ing,
Rosamustpresentar easonablepr
oofthatherwor
kingcondi
ti
on
i
ncreasedhisri
skofcontr
acti
ngthedi
sease,orthatthereisaconnect
ionbet
weenhisworkand
thecauseofthedi
seaseotherwi
sethesamei snotcompensable.

NOTE: Thefor
egoinganswercanbef oundinpage766ofthebookenti
tl
edPrinci
plesand
CasesLaborStandardsandSocialLegi
slat
ion,
Fir
stEdi
ti
on2015,byAtty
.Volt
aireT.Duano.The
topi
concompensat i
onpr oceedi
ngshasbeentimeandagainthesubj
ectmatterofbar
questi
ons,morespecif
icall
yduri
ngthe2012,2005and1996BarExaminati
ons.

XI
II

A.

Giventhatt hel
iabi
l
ityforani
l
legal
str
ikei
sindi
vi
dual
,notcol
lect
ive,
stat
ewhenthepar
ti
cipating
uni
onof ficersandmember smaybetermi
natedfr
om employ
mentbecauseoftheil
l
egalstr
ike.
Explai
ny ouranswer.(4%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Thef
oll
owi
ngar
etheef
fect
sofpar
ti
cipat
ioni
nani
l
legal
str
ikeandcommi
ssi
onofi
l
legal
act
s
dur
ingst
ri
ke:

1.Anyuni
onof
fi
cerwhoknowi
ngl
ypar
ti
cipat
esi
nani
l
legal
str
ike;
and

2.Anyworkeroruni
onoffi
cerwhoknowi
nglypar
ti
cipat
esi
nthecommi ssionofil
l
egalact
s
duri
ngastri
kemaybedecl ar
edtohavel
osthi
sempl oy
mentst
atus;
(Thirdparagr
aph,
Ar t
icl
e
279(a)[
264(a)]
,LaborCode)

NOTE: Thefor
egoi nganswercanbefoundinpage520ofthebookent i
tl
edPrinci
plesand
CasesLaborRel ati
ons,Fi
rstEdi
ti
on2016,byAtt
y.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.Thet opicontheeffect
sof
part
ici
pati
oninillegalst
ri
kehasbeenti
meandagai nthesubjectmatterofbarquesti
ons,more
specif
ical
l
yduringt he2015,2014,
2012,2010,
2008,2007,2006,1997,1995and1994Bar
Examinati
ons.

B.

Asympat
het
icstr
ikei
sstoppageofwor
ktomakecommoncausewithot
herst
ri
kersi
nanot
her
est
abl
i
shmentorbusi
ness.I
sthesympat
het
icst
ri
keval
i
d?Expl
ainy
ouranswer
.(1%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Thei ll
egal st oppageofwor kbywayofsy mpat het i
cst r
ikehasbeenset tledi nthecaseofBi fl
ex
Phi l
s.LaborUni on( NAFLU)v .Filfl
exI ndust ri
al andManuf actur i
ngCor or ati
on, G.
R.No.155679,
19December2006, wher eitwasr uledt hatst oppageofwor kduet owel gangbay ani sinthe
nat ureofagener al strike, anext endedsy mpat hyst rike.Itaff ectsnumer ousempl oy ers
i
ncl udi ngt hosewhodonothav eadi sput ewi ththei rempl oyeesr egardi ngt heirtermsand
condi ti
onsofempl oy ment .Empl oy eeswhohav enol abordisput ewi t
ht hei rempl oy erbutwho,
onadayt heyar eschedul edt owor k,refuset owor kandi nst eadj oinawel gangbay ancommi t
ani llegal wor kst oppage.Ev enifpet iti
oner sj oi
ningt hewel gangbay anwer econsi deredmer el
y
asanexer ci seoft heirf reedom ofexpr essi on,freedom ofassembl yorf r eedom t opet iti
onthe
gov er nmentf orredr essofgr i
ev ances, theexer ci
seofsuchr ightsisnotabsol ute.Fort he
prot ect i
onofot hersi gni fi
cantst ateinterest ssuchast her i
ghtofent er pr i
sest oreasonabl e
retur nsoni nv estment s, andt oexpansi onandgr owt henshr inedi nthe1987Const ituti
onmust
alsobeconsi der ed, ot her wise, oppr essionorsel f-dest r
uctionofcapi tal inor dertopr omot ethe
i
nt erest sofl aborwoul dbesanct ioned.Andi twoul dgi veimpr i
mat urt owor kersj oining
demonst rations/ ral l
iesev enbef oreaf fordingt heempl oyeranoppor tuni tytomaket he
necessar yar rangement st ocount eractt hei mpl i
cat i
onsoft hewor kst oppageont hebusi ness,
andi gnoret henov el principleofshar edr esponsi bil
itybet weenwor kersandempl oy ersaimedat
fost eringindust rial peace.Ther ebei ngnoshowi ngt hatpetitionersnot ifiedr espondent softheir
i
nt ent ion,ort hatt heywer eal l
owedbyr espondent s, tojoi
nt hewel gangbay anonOct ober24,
1990, theirwor kst oppagei sbey ondl egal protection.

NOTE:Theforegoi
nganswercanbef oundinpage506ofthebookentit
ledPr
inci
plesand
CasesLaborRelat
ions,
FirstEdi
ti
on2016,byAt
ty.Vol
tai
reT.Duano.Thetopi
consy mpat
het
ic
st
ri
kehasbeent hesubjectmatt
erofbarquest
ionsduri
ngthe2004BarExaminat
ions.
C.

Duetobusi nessrecession,
Ball
ist
icCompanyret
renchedapar tofit
swor kf
orce.Opposingthe
ret
renchment ,someoft heaff
ectedemploy
eesstagedast r
ike.Eventual
l
y,theret
renchment
wasf oundtobej usti
fi
ed,andthestr
ikewasdecl
aredil
legal
; hence,t
heleadersofthestri
ke,
i
ncludingtheretrenchedemployees,wer
edecl
aredtohav el
ostt hei
remploymentst at
us.

Arethest
ri
ki
ngr et
renchedemploy
eesstil
lenti
tl
edtoseparati
onpayunderSec.298(
283)oft
he
LaborCodedespit
etheill
egal
i
tyofthei
rstr
ike?Expl
ainyouranswer
.(2%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Thest ri
kersi
ncl
udingtheuni onoff
icersshouldbepai dt
heirseparati
onpaybyv i
rt
ueof
ret
renchmentnot wi
thstandingthei
llegalst
ri
kewasdecl aredil
legal.Thei
ssueonentitl
ementt
o
separationpayduetoaut hori
zedcauseandt hegr oundf
orterminat i
onduetoknowingly
part
icipati
nginil
l
egalstri
kear edi
stinctanddiff
erent.

XI
V

PursuanttohispowerunderSec.278( g)(263(g))oftheLaborCode,theSecret
aryofLabor
assumedj ur
isdi
ctionoverthe3-dayoldstri
keinAr morSteelPlat
es,
Inc.,oneofthecount
ry’
s
bi
ggermanuf acturersofsteelpl
ates,
andor deredall
t hest
ri
kingemployeestoretur
ntowork.
Thestri
kingempl oyeesignoredtheordertoretur
ntowor k.

(
a)Whatcondi
ti
onsmayj
ust
if
ytheSecr
etar
yofLabort
oassumej
uri
sdi
cti
on?(
2.5%)

SUGGESTEDANSWER:

Pursuantt oArti
cle263( g)[
now278( g)
],whenalabordisputecausesori sl
ikelytocausea
str
ikeorl ockouti
nani ndustr
yindispensabl
etothenationali
nterest,
theSecr et
aryofLaborand
Empl oymentmayassumej ur
isdi
ctionoverthedi
sputeanddeci deitorcerti
fythesamet othe
NationalLaborRel at
ionsCommi ssion(NLRC)forcompul sor
yar bi
tr
ati
on.(Section1,
Oper at
ionalGuideli
nesofDepar t
mentOr derNo.40-G-
03, Ser
iesof2010, datedFebruary24,
2011)

Foraval
i
dexer ci
seoft
heassumpt
ionofj
uri
sdi
cti
onaut
hor
it
y,anyoft
hef
oll
owi
ngcondi
ti
ons
mustbepresent:

a.Bot
hpar
ti
eshaverequest
edt
heSecr
etar
yofLaborandEmpl
oymentt
oassumej
uri
sdi
cti
on
overt
hel
abordi
sput
e;or

b.Afteraconfer
encecalledbyt heOffi
ceoftheSecr etaryofLaborandEmpl oymentont he
propri
etyoftheissuanceoft heAssumptionorCer t
ifi
cati
onOr der
,mot uproprioorupona
requestorpeti
ti
onbyei t
herpar t
ytothelabordispute.Inthesaidconference.thepart
iesshal
l
alsobeencouragedt oami cabl
ysettl
ethedispute.(Secti
on2,Oper at
ionalGuideli
nesof
DepartmentOrderNo.40- G-03,Ser
iesof2010,datedFebr uar
y24, 2011)

NOTE:
Thef
oregoi
nganswercanbef
oundi
npages468-
487oft
hebookent
it
ledPr
inci
plesand
CasesLaborRelat
ions,Fi
rstEdi
ti
on2016,byAt
ty.Volt
air
eT.Duano.Thetopiconthe
assumpti
onofjuri
sdicti
onhasbeentimeandagainthesubjectmat
terofbarquest
ions,
mor
e
speci
fi
cal
lydur
ingt he2012,2004and1996BarExaminati
ons.

(b)Whatar
etheconsequencesoftheassumpt
ionofj
uri
sdi
cti
onbytheSecr
etar
yofLabor
,and
ofthedi
sobedi
encetotheret
urntowork?Expl
ainy
ouranswer
.(2.
5%)

Theconsequencesofassumpt
ionofj
uri
sdi
cti
onar
easf
oll
ows:

a.I
fastr
ikeorl
ockouthasnott
akenpl
ace,t
hepar
ti
esar
eenj
oinedt
oconductanyunt
owar
d
act
iont
hatmayleadtoastri
keorl
ockout
.

b.ifastri
keorlockouthasalreadytakenplace,al
lstri
ki
ngandl ockedoutwor kersshall
,wi
thin
twenty
-four(
24)hour sfr
om receiptofanAssumpt i
onorCer t
ificat
ionOr der
,immediatel
yretur
n
toworkandt heempl oy
ershallimmedi at
elyresumeoper at
ionsandr eadmitall
workersunder
thesamet er
msandcondi t
ionsprevail
ingbeforethestri
ke.

c.Atanypointinti
me,theparti
esarenotpr ev
entedfrom submi t
tingt
hedisput etoVolunt
ary
Arbitr
ati
onwiththeSecret
aryofLaborandEmpl oymentorhi s/herdul
yaut hor
ized
represent
ati
veasVoluntar
yArbitr
atororPanelofVoluntaryArbitr
ator
s.(Secti
on3, Operat
ional
Guideli
nesofDepartmentOrderNo.40-G-03,Ser
iesof2010, datedFebruary24, 2011)

Whil
etheconsequenceofdi sobediencetothereturntoworkhasbeenr ul
edi nthecaseof
Manil
aHot elEmployeesAssoci at
ionv .Manil
aHot elCorpor
ation,G.R.No.154591,March5,
2007.I
nhol di
ngthatdefianceoftheassumpt ionor derorareturn-
toworkorderbyast ri
ki
ng
employee,
whet heraunionof fi
ceroramember ,isanill
egalactand, t
her
efore,avali
dground
forl
ossofempl oymentst at
us.TheHi ghCour texplai
ned:

Thel
awexpl
i
cit
lypr
ohi
bit
ssuchact
s.

ART.263.STRI
KES,
PICKETI
NG,
ANDLOCKOUTS

xxxx(
omi
tt
ed)

ART.264.PROHI
BITEDACTI
VITI
ES

(
a)xxxx

(
omi
tt
ed)

Mor etot hepoi nt

,theCourthasconsistentl
yr ul
edinal onglineofcasesspanni ngsev eral
decadest hatoncet heSOLEassumesj urisdicti
onoveral abordispute,suchj ur
isdicti
onshould
notbei nter f
eredwithbytheapplicat
ionoft hecoerciv
epr ocessesofast ri
keorl ockout.
Defianceoft heassumpt i
onorderorareturn-toworkor derbyast ri
kingempl oy
ee, whethera
unionof fi
ceroramember ,i
sanill
egalactand, ther
efore,avali
dgr oundf orlossofempl oy
ment
status.(Gr andBoulevardHotelv.GenuineLaborOr ganizati
onofWor kersinHot el,Restaur
ant
andAll
iedIndust
ri
es(GLOWHRAI N),
G.R.No.153664,18Jul
y2003,406SCRA688, 710;
Tel
efunkenSemiconduct
orsEmployeesUnion-
FFW v.Cour
tofAppeals,G.R.Nos.143013-
14,18
December2000,348SCRA565, 582;Feder
ati
onofFreeWorker
sv .I
nciong,G.R.No.49983,20
Apri
l1982,208SCRA157, 165)

NOTE:Theforegoi
nganswercanbef oundinpage501oft hebookenti
tl
edPrinci
plesand
CasesLaborRelat
ions,Fi
rstEdi
ti
on2016,byAt
ty.Volt
air
eT.Duano.Thetopiconthe
assumpti
onofjuri
sdicti
onhasbeentimeandagainthesubjectmat
terofbarquestions,
mor
e
speci
fi
cal
lyduri
ngt he2012,2004and1996BarExaminati
ons.