GR 165268; (November, 2005) (Digest)
G.R. No. 165268 November 8, 2005
Challenge Socks Corporation, Petitioner, vs. Court of Appeals, National Labor Relations Commission, Hon. Antonio R. Macam, and Elvie Buguat, Respondents.
FACTS
Respondent Elvie Buguat was hired by petitioner Challenge Socks Corporation as a knitting operator. During her employment, she incurred numerous infractions, including habitual absenteeism, tardiness, and neglect of duties. Specifically, on May 25, 1998, she failed to check socks, causing damage, which resulted in a five-day suspension and a warning. She committed the same infraction on February 2, 1999, receiving another warning. Despite these, she continued her neglectful conduct, failing to properly count a bundle of socks on March 1, 1999. Consequently, her employment was terminated on March 2, 1999. Buguat filed a complaint for illegal dismissal. The Labor Arbiter ruled the dismissal was too harsh, ordering reinstatement without backwages, a decision affirmed by the NLRC. The Court of Appeals reversed, finding just cause for dismissal but declaring the termination ineffectual due to the employer’s failure to comply with the twin-notice procedural requirement. It ordered the payment of backwages from dismissal until the finality of its decision.
ISSUE
Whether the dismissal of respondent Elvie Buguat was valid.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals’ finding that the dismissal was for a just cause but procedurally defective, with a modification on the award. The legal logic is bifurcated, addressing substantive and procedural aspects separately. Substantively, Article 282 of the Labor Code authorizes termination for gross and habitual neglect of duties. Buguat’s record—repeated absenteeism, tardiness, and identical negligence in her core duty of checking and counting socks despite prior suspension and warnings—constituted habitual neglect. The totality of infractions, not viewed in isolation, demonstrated a pattern of gross misconduct justifying dismissal. The penalty was proportionate, as her repeated willful disregard of company rules and warnings rendered her unfit for continued employment.
Procedurally, the employer failed to observe the mandatory twin-notice requirement, violating Buguat’s right to statutory due process. However, applying the doctrine established in Agabon v. NLRC, where dismissal is for a just cause but procedural due process is not observed, the sanction is not reinstatement or full backwages. Instead, the employer is liable to pay nominal damages for the procedural violation. Consequently, the Court modified the appellate decision, deleting the award of backwages and ordering petitioner to pay Buguat nominal damages in the amount of P30,000.00. The ruling emphasizes that while an employer has the right to dismiss an employee for valid cause, strict compliance with procedural safeguards remains obligatory, with a financial penalty imposed for non-compliance.