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ew MOCK BAR ESSAY EXAMS
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Re LABOR LAW
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By: Prof. Marlon Manuel

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1. Giving in to the demands of various labor federations, the Regional Tripartite Wages
and Productivity Board (RTWPB) for the National Capital Region issued a Wage Order

io giving an across-the-board wage increase of P25 per day for all employees in Metro
Manila. Is the Wage Order valid?
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No, the Wage Order is invalid. Under the law, the Regional Wage Boards are authorized

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to set and adjust the minimum wage only. The Wage Boards do not have the authority
to grant across-the-board wage increases, which will give wage increases to all employees
alike, regardless of salary rate. Since the Metro Manila Wage Board went beyond its

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powers in issuing the Wage Order, such order is null and void.

2. A contractor was accused of engaging in labor-only contracting. The contractor

h claimed that since it has duly registered as a contractor and has been issued a Certificate

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of Registration by the Department of Labor and Employment, it cannot be accused of
engaging in prohibited labor-only contracting. Is this contention correct? Explain.

ANSWER:

No, the contention is erroneous. A contractor’s Certificate of Registration is not sufficient

proof that it is a legitimate contractor. A Certificate of Registration issued by the

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Department of Labor and Employment is not conclusive evidence of such status. The
fact of registration simply prevents the legal presumption of being a mere labor-only

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contractor from arising. A registered contractor can still be held liable for labor-only
contracting.

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3. Based on a letter from an anonymous complainant, the Secretary of the Department

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of Labor and Employment ordered the inspection of Company Bisit. The officer who

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conducted the inspection found out that Company Bisit had not paid the employees’
salaries for the past three months. On the basis of these findings, the Secretary of Labor

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ordered the stoppage of work or suspension of operations of Company Bisit, invoking the

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visitorial and enforcement power under Article 128 of the Labor Code. Is the Secretary’s
action correct? Explain.

ANSWER:

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No, the Secretary’s action is incorrect. Under Article 128, the Secretary of Labor can

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order the stoppage of work of an establishment only when non-compliance with the law
or implementing rules and regulations poses grave and imminent danger to the health

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and safety of workers in the workplace. This situation does not exist in this case. The

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proper action for the Secretary is to issue an order requiring Company Bisit to pay the

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salaries of its employees.

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4. Julio is employed by D’Liver Company as driver of a delivery van. All trips are within

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Metro Manila. Whenever there is a delivery task, Julio gets the vehicle and the item/s to

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be delivered from the company’s office, together with the instructions on the destination

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and other details. Once the delivery is completed, Julio returns to the office. Julio is

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required to record his time of departure from the office, the time of arrival at the

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destination (with the signature of the person who receives the item delivered), and the

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time of arrival back at the office. The delivery van is equipped with a GPS tracking

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system, which allows the company to monitor the actual location of the vehicle. Julio’s
employer claims that Julio is not entitled to overtime pay because he is a field personnel.

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Is the employer’s contention correct? Explain.
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No, the employer’s contention is not correct. Field personnel are employees whose

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working time and performance of their job is not supervised by the employer or its
representative, as the work is performed outside the principal office or premises of the

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employer. The Supreme Court has already explained that if the employer has a way of
supervising the time and performance, then the employees shall not be considered field

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personnel and will be covered by benefits such as overtime pay. In this case, the
employer clearly has mechanisms to supervise the employees’ performance of the work
and the time spent at work.

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5. Global Legal Employment Network, Inc. (GLEN), is a licensed recruitment agency. It

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was about to deploy Marina to Hong Kong when the Department of Labor imposed a ban
on the deployment of Filipino workers to Hong Kong because of the escalating political

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crisis. When Marina demanded for the reimbursement of documentation and processing
expenses that she incurred in connection with the failed deployment to Hong Kong, the
recruitment agency failed to reimburse Marina. Marina demanded for the reimbursement
of the expenses that she incurred or her immediate deployment to another country. When
the recruitment agency failed to act on Marina’s demands, Marina filed a complaint for
illegal recruitment against GLEN. Is GLEN liable for illegal recruitment? Explain.

ANSWER:

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Yes, GLEN is liable for illegal recruitment. Under the Migrant Workers’ Act, as amended,
there are acts, which, if committed by a recruiter, whether licensed or not, will constitute

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illegal recruitment. One of those acts is failure to reimburse expenses incurred by the
worker in connection with his documentation and processing for purposes of deployment,

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in cases where the deployment does not actually take place without the worker’s fault.
In this case, the deployment did not happen without the fault of Marina. Hence, GLEN
must reimburse Marina’s expenses. Failure to reimburse constitutes illegal recruitment.

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6. Explain the distinction between the powers of the Department of Labor and
Employment-Regional Office under Article 128 and under Article 129 of the Labor Code.

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ANSWER:

C Article 129 covers the adjudicatory powers of the Regional Office for simple money claims.
On the other hand, Article 128 refers to the visitorial and enforcement powers. A simple
money claim under Article 129 is initiated by a complaint filed by an employee who is not

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asking for reinstatement and whose claim does not exceed P5,000.00. Under Article 128,

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the Secretary or his/her duly authorized representative (like the Regional Director or the

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labor inspection officers of the Regional Office) may conduct inspection of establishments,

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examine and copy records, and interview employees. If there are findings of violations,

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the Secretary or the Regional Director can issue writs of compliance. The powers under

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Article 128 are not covered by the P5,000.00 limit in Article 129.

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