Duncan Asso. Of Detailman-PTGWO vs. Glaxo Wellcome Phils.

, 2004

Facts:

 Petitioner Pedro Tecson was hired by Glaxo as medical representative, and was told, after he
was trained, to sign a contract of employment which stipulates that he agrees to:
- “disclose to management any future relationship by consanguinity or affinity with co-
employees or employees of competing drug companies and that should the
management find that relationship to pose a possible conflict of interest, that he should
resign from the company.”
 Thereafter he entered into a romantic relationship with Bettsy who was an employee of Astra, a
competitor of Glaxo.
 Tecson’s superiors reminded him that he and Betsy should decide who should resign from their
jobs as it would constitute a possible conflict of interest.
 Tecson proceeded to plead with the company to ask for more time as Bettsy could possibly
accept the redundancy package of Astra, and thereafter requested more time to comply as he
attempted to enter the milk division of Glaxo in order to avoid any conflict of interest.
 After all of this, no compliance was met, and Glaxo decided to move Tecson to their Agusan del
sur sales area, to which he also did not comply.
 As the parties failed to resolve the issue, they submitted the issue to arbitration, then to the
National Concillation and Mediation Board (NCMB) to which the board rendered decision in
favor of Glaxo and so did the court of appeals. Hence this petition for review.

Issue:

 WON Glaxo’s policy prohibiting its employees from marrying an employee of a competitor
company is valid.

Ruling:

 The court stated that the company policy is valid as it reasonable as it might compromise the
interests of the company. The court stated that Glaxo has the right to guard its trade secrets
from competitors. It also has the right to protect its right to reasonable returns on investments
and to expansion and growth.
 The court as an aside also stated that this is not a violation of the Equal Protection Clause as the
EPC only concerns itself with grievances and discrimination between the State and the Private
Individual.