Labor Review 2022-23

( 2nd Sem)

Atty. Paciano F. Fallar Jr.

SSCR-CoL

BAR QUESTIONS ON

EMPLOYER-EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP
and
JURISDICTION

Q1. Benito is the owner of an eponymous clothing brand that is a top seller. He maintains a
pool of male and female models who wear his clothes in promotional shoots and videos. His
deal with the models is that he will pay them with 3 sets of free clothes per week.

Is this arrangement allowed?

Q2.TRX, a local shipping firm, maintains a fleet of motorized boats plying the island barangays
of AP, a coastal town. At day’s end the boat operators/crew members turn over to the boat
owner their cash collections from cargo fees and passengers’ fares, less the expenses for diesel
fuel, food landing fees and spare parts. Fifty percent (50%) of the monthly income or earnings
derived from the operations of the boats are given to the boatmen by way of compensation.
Deducted from the individual shares of the boatmen are their cash advance and peso value of
their absences, if any. Are these boatmen entitled to overtime pay, holiday pay and 13 th month
pay?

Q3. Jim is the holder of a certificate of public convenience for a jeepney. He entered into a
contract of lease with Nick, whereby they agreed that the lease period is for one (1) year unless
sooner terminated by Jim for any of the causes laid down in the contract. The rental is
P30,000.00 monthly. All the expenses for the repair of the jeepney, together with expenses for
diesel, oil and service, shall be for the account of Nick. Nick is required to make a deposit of
three (3) months to answer for the restoration of the vehicle to its good operating condition
when the contract ends. It is stipulated that Nick is not an employee of Jim and he holds the
latter free and harmless from all suits or claims which may arise from the implementation of the
contract. Nick has the right to use the jeepney at any hour of the day provided it is operated on
the approved line of operation.

After five (5) months of the lease and payment of the rentals, Nick became delinquent in the
payment of the rentals for two (2) months. Jim rescinded the contract and asked for the
arrearages. Nick responded by filing a complaint with the NLRC for illegal dismissal, claiming
that the contract is illegal and he was just forced by Jim to sign it so he can drive. He claims he
is really a driver of Jim on a boundary system and the reason he was removed is because he
failed to pay the complete daily boundary , of one thousand (P1,000.00) for 2 months due to
the increase in the number of tricycles.

Jim files a motion to dismiss the NLRC case on the ground that the regular court has jurisdiction
since the agreement is a lease contract. Rule on the motion and explain.

Q4. Luningning Foods engaged the services of Lamitan Manpower, Inc., a bona fide
independent contractor, to provide "tasters" that will check on food quality. Subsequently, these
"tasters" joined the union of rank -and-file employees of Luningning and demanded that they
be made regular employees of the latter as they are performing functions necessary and
desirable to operate the company’s business. Luningning rejected the demand for
regularization. On behalf of the "tasters", the union then filed a notice of strike with the

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Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). In response, Luningning sought a restraining
order from the Regional Trial Court (RTC) arguing that the DOLE does not have jurisdiction over
the case since it does not have an employer-employee relationship with the employees of an
independent contractor. If you were the RTC judge, would you issue a restraining order against
the union?

Q5. Betty had worked five (5) years as waitresses in a cocktail lounge. She and her fellow
waitresses did not receive any salary directly from the lounge but shared in all service charges
collected for food and drinks to the extent of 75%. With the lounge owner's prior permission,
they could sit with and entertain guest inside the establishment and appropriate for themselves
the tips given by guests. After five (5) years, their individual shares in the collected service
charges dipped to below minimum wage level as a consequence of the lounge's marked
business decline. Thereupon, Betty and her group asked the lnge owner to increase their share
in the service charges to 85% or the minimun wage level, whichever is higher. The owner
terminated their services.

They filed a complaint for unlawful dismissal and unpaid wages. Decide.

Q6.Marcel was the Vice President for Finance and Administration and a member of the Board of
Directors of Mercedes Corporation. He brought a complaint for illegal suspension and illegal
dismissal against Mercedes Corporation, which moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground
that the complaint pertained to the jurisdiction of the RTC due to the controversy being intra-
corporate based on his positions in the corporation. Marcel countered that he had only been
removed as Vice President for Finance and Administration, not as a member of the Board of
Directors. He also argued that his position is not listed as among the corporate officers in
Mercedes Corporation’s by-laws.

Is the argument of Marcel correct? Explain your answer.

Q7. Richie, a driver-mechanic, was recruited by Supreme Recruiters (SR) and its principal,
Mideast Recruitment Agency (MRA), to work in Qatar for a period of two (2) years. However,
soon after the contract was approved by POEA, MRA advised SR to forego Richie’s deployment
because it had already hired another Filipino driver-mechanic, who had just completed his
contract in Qatar. Aggrieved, Richie filed with the NLRC a complaint against SR and MRA for
damages corresponding to his two years’ salary under the POEA-approved contract.

SR and MRA traversed Richie’s complaint, raising the following argument: Because Richie
was not able to leave for Qatar, no employer-employee relationship was established
between them. Hence, the Labor Arbiter has no jurisdiction over the subject matter.

PFFALLARJRFeb 2023