Facts:
This
is a petition for review on certiorari of
the decision dated November 16, 1988 of the Department of Labor and Employment,
affirming the Order of the Regional Director dated January 11, 1988 in three
consolidated cases filed against the petitioner: (1) by Teodorico Camas for
illegal deductions; (2) for underpayment of wages, non-payment of legal holiday
pay and service incentive leave filed by the union in behalf of its members;
and (3) for non-payment of employees' service incentive leave, underpayment of
allowance, overtime pay, premium pay, and non- payment of two (2) regular
holidays in December which were discovered upon routine inspection conducted by
the labor regulation officers. After the parties had submitted their position
papers and evidence, the Regional Director issued an order on January 11, 1988,
the dispositive portion of which reads thus:
WHEREFORE,
premises considered, an Order is hereby entered:
a)
Ordering respondent [herein petitioner] to refund to complainant Teodorico
Camas the amount of Seven Hundred and Seventy Five Pesos (P775.00) having been
illegally deducted from his salaries; and
b)
Ordering respondent to pay individual claimants in the second case their unpaid
overtime pay, legal holiday pay, living allowance and service incentive leave
within ten (10) days from receipt hereof, otherwise a writ of execution shall
be issued for the enforcement of this Order. Petitioner's appeal to the
Secretary of Labor was dismissed by the latter. Hence, this petition for certiorari.
Issue:
Whether
or not the Regional Director has no jurisdiction over its employees' claims.
Held:
The
petition is devoid of merit. The jurisdiction of the Regional Director over
claims for violation of labor standards is conferred by Article 128-B of the
Labor Code, as amended by Executive Order No. 111 of March 26,1987 which
provides that:
(b) The Provisions of Article 217 of this Code
to the contrary notwithstanding and in cases where the relationship of
employer-employee still exists, the Minister of Labor and Employment or his
duly authorized representatives shall have the power to order and administer,
after due notice and hearing, compliance with the labor standards provisions of
this Code and other labor legislation based on the findings of
labor regulation officers or industrial safety engineers made in the course of
inspection, and to issue writs of
execution to the appropriate authority for the enforcement of their orders,
except in cases where the employer contests the findings of the labor
regulation officer and raises issues which cannot be resolved without
considering evidentiary matters that are not verifiable in the normal course of
inspections.
The
jurisdiction of the Regional Director over employees' claims for wages and
other monetary benefits not exceeding P5,000 has been affirmed by Republic Act
No. 6715, amending Article 129 of the Labor Code.
Being
a curative statute, Republic Act No. 6715 may be given retroactive effect if,
as in this case, no vested rights would be impaired. Under the exception clause
in Article 128 (b) of the Labor Code, the Regional Director may not be divested
of his jurisdiction over these claims, unless three (3) elements concur,
namely: (a) that the petitioner (employer) contests the findings of the labor
regulation officer and raises issues thereon; (b) that in order to resolve such
issues, there is a need to examine evidentiary matters; and (c) that such
matters are not verifiable in the normal course of inspection.
In
this case, although the petitioner contested the Regional Director's finding of
violations of labor standards committed by the petitioner, that issue was
resolved by an examination of evidentiary matters which were verifiable in the
ordinary course of inspection. Hence, there was no need to indorse the case to
the appropriate arbitration branch of the National Labor Relations Commission
(NLRC) for adjudication. The petition for certiorari is dismissed for lack of
merit.
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