GR 230576; (October, 2020) (Digest)
G.R. No. 230576 . October 05, 2020
ABS-CBN CORPORATION, PETITIONER, VS. JAIME C. CONCEPCION, RESPONDENT.
FACTS
ABS-CBN Corporation is a broadcasting company. Respondent Jaime C. Concepcion was hired in June 1999 as an Outside Broadcast (OB) van driver, tasked with overseeing the generator used during program tapings. He was assigned to various ABS-CBN programs, acted as property custodian for equipment, and was supervised by company personnel regarding his work schedules, assignments, and compliance with company rules and sanctions. In 2010, he filed a complaint for regularization. After refusing to sign a contract waiving regularization rights, he was dismissed on September 1, 2010, prompting him to amend his complaint to include illegal dismissal.
The Labor Arbiter dismissed the complaint, finding no employer-employee relationship. The NLRC Fifth Division reversed this, declaring Concepcion a regular employee. However, the NLRC Special Division, upon ABS-CBN’s motion for reconsideration, reinstated the Labor Arbiter’s decision. The Court of Appeals then annulled the Special Division’s ruling and reinstated the Fifth Division’s decision, leading ABS-CBN to elevate the case to the Supreme Court.
ISSUE
Whether an employer-employee relationship existed between ABS-CBN and Concepcion.
RULING
Yes, an employer-employee relationship existed. The Supreme Court affirmed the CA decision, applying the four-fold test: (1) the selection and engagement of the employee; (2) the payment of wages; (3) the power of dismissal; and (4) the employer’s power to control the employee’s conduct, which is the most important indicator. The Court found that ABS-CBN exercised control over Concepcion. He was assigned to specific programs by the company, his work schedule was determined by ABS-CBN’s taping requirements, and he was subject to its rules and disciplinary actions, as evidenced by a 2003 memo for a work infraction. His work as an OB van driver, ensuring power supply for broadcasts, was necessary and desirable to ABS-CBN’s principal business of television broadcasting. The claim that he was an independent contractor failed, as he was not hired for unique skills free from ABS-CBN’s control over the means and methods of his work. Consequently, his dismissal without just or authorized cause and due process was illegal. He was ordered reinstated with full backwages and other benefits.