Case Digest (G.R. No. 259988)
Facts:
Rhoda P. Amor et al. v. Constant Packaging Corporation/William Chan and Virginia Chan, G.R. No. 259988, May 19, 2025, Supreme Court Second Division, Leonen, SAJ., writing for the Court.Petitioners are fourteen workers previously engaged by Constant Packaging Corporation as sorters, revisers, and packers on a pakyaw (task) basis. Petitioners complained to company management about working conditions (alleged 12‑hour workdays, seven‑day workweeks, underpayment, and nonremittance of statutory contributions), and some reported those concerns to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). After these complaints—and after some employees failed to attend a company Christmas party—several petitioners were prevented by security guards from entering the company premises on various dates. Two petitioners, Marissa C. Busel and Glenda M. Tordillo, resigned, citing health issues and alleged pressure from their supervisor.
The Labor Arbiter found the petitioners (except Busel and Tordillo) to be regular employees who were illegally dismissed and awarded separation pay, backwages, and 13th month pay. The National Labor Relations Commission (Sixth Division) affirmed that the petitioners were regular employees but reversed the finding of illegal dismissal—concluding the evidence did not prove dismissal—ordered the company to accept the petitioners back to work, and deleted the 13th month pay award on the ground that pakyaw workers are excluded from that benefit. The NLRC denied reconsideration.
Petitioners filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 with the Court of Appeals challenging the NLRC Decision; the CA dismissed the petition and denied reconsideration. Petitioners then brought the present Rule 45 petition to the Court, assailing the CA rulings and seekin...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Whether the act of preventing petitioners from entering the workplace constitutes dismissal, and if so, whether the petitioners were illegally dismissed.
- Whether petitioners Marissa C. Busel and Glenda M. Tordillo were constructively dismissed.
- Whether petitioners paid on a pakyaw (task) basis are ent...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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