GR 145587; (October, 2007) (Digest)
G.R. No. 145587 ; October 26, 2007
EDI-STAFFBUILDERS INTERNATIONAL, INC., petitioner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION and ELEAZAR S. GRAN, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner EDI-Staffbuilders International, Inc., a recruitment agency, collaborated with Expertise Search International (ESI) to deploy private respondent Eleazar S. Gran to work for Omar Ahmed Ali Bin Bechr Est. (OAB) in Saudi Arabia. Gran signed an employment contract stipulating a monthly salary of USD 850.00 for two years. However, his POEA Information Sheet indicated a salary of only USD 600.00. Upon deployment, OAB initially contested the higher salary but, through EDI’s intervention, agreed to pay Gran USD 850.00 monthly. After roughly five months, OAB terminated Gran’s employment, citing non-compliance by the recruitment agency with contract requirements on salary and duration, and Gran’s alleged insubordination. Gran received his final pay and executed a declaration releasing OAB from further obligations. Upon repatriation, Gran filed a complaint for illegal dismissal and underpayment of wages.
ISSUE
The core issue is whether Gran was illegally dismissed and entitled to payment of salaries for the unexpired portion of his contract, and whether the recruitment agencies (EDI and ESI) are jointly and severally liable with the foreign employer.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the rulings of the NLRC and Court of Appeals, holding Gran’s dismissal illegal and finding joint and several liability. The legal logic is twofold. First, the grounds for dismissal were not substantiated. The alleged non-compliance with contractual stipulations on salary and duration was attributable to the recruitment agencies’ misrepresentation and prohibited “reprocessing” of Gran’s employment documents, not to Gran. The charge of insubordination was unproven, and Gran was not afforded procedural due process. Second, the quitclaim Gran signed was invalid. It was executed under circumstances where Gran, recently terminated and about to be repatriated, had no real bargaining power. The amount received was merely his final pay, not valuable consideration for waiving all claims. Consequently, the termination was without just or authorized cause and without due process. The recruitment agencies, having perpetrated the misrepresentation, are solidarily liable with the foreign employer under the law for Gran’s monetary claims, which include his salaries for the unexpired portion of his contract.