G.R. No. 192582 , April 7, 2014
BLUER THAN BLUE JOINT VENTURES COMPANY/MARY ANN DELA VEGA, Petitioners, vs. GLYZA ESTEBAN, Respondent.

FACTS

Respondent Glyza Esteban was employed in January 2004 as a Sales Clerk at petitioner’s EGG boutique. Her primary tasks included attending to customers, ensuring efficient inventory, coordinating orders, cashiering, and reporting to the accounting department. In November 2006, petitioner discovered that several employees had accessed its point-of-sale (POS) system using a universal password given by Elmer Flores, and that it was Esteban who gave Flores the password. Petitioner sent Esteban a memorandum asking her to explain why she should not be disciplined for tampering with the POS system and placed her under preventive suspension for ten days. Esteban admitted in her explanation that she used the universal password three times in December 2005 after learning it from other employees. Her suspension was lifted on November 13, 2006, but she was simultaneously served a notice of termination on the ground of loss of trust and confidence. She received her final pay, less a deduction of ₱8,304.93 for inventory variances, and signed a quitclaim. Esteban filed a complaint for illegal dismissal, illegal suspension, and various monetary claims. The Labor Arbiter ruled in her favor, declaring her illegally dismissed and awarding separation pay, backwages, unpaid suspension salaries, and attorney’s fees. The NLRC reversed this decision, dismissing the illegal dismissal case but ordering the refund of the wage deduction. The Court of Appeals reinstated the Labor Arbiter’s decision with modification on the computation of separation pay. Petitioners elevated the case to the Supreme Court.

ISSUE

Whether respondent Glyza Esteban was validly dismissed on the ground of loss of trust and confidence.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the Court of Appeals’ decision, finding Esteban’s dismissal illegal. The Court held that while loss of trust and confidence is a valid ground for dismissal, it applies to employees occupying positions of trust and confidence. The Court ruled that Esteban, though a rank-and-file employee with the job title of Sales Clerk, performed cashiering duties and handled company funds and property, which placed her in a position of trust and confidence. However, for a valid dismissal on this ground, the breach of trust must be willful, meaning it must be done intentionally, knowingly, and purposely, without justifiable excuse. The Court found that Esteban’s act of using and sharing the universal password, while a violation, was not shown to be motivated by ill will or to have caused actual damage to the company. The password was simple (“123456”) and known to other employees, indicating a lax company security system. Her infraction, committed almost a year prior to discovery, was an isolated incident. The penalty of dismissal was disproportionate to the offense. Therefore, the dismissal was not for a just cause. The Court also upheld the findings that her preventive suspension was unwarranted and the wage deduction for inventory variances was illegal. The quitclaim she signed was deemed invalid as it was executed under circumstances where she was forced to sign to receive her final pay.