Case Digest (G.R. No. 193816)
Facts:
Erson Ang Lee Doing Business As "Super Lamination Services," G.R. No. 193816, November 21, 2016, First Division, Sereno, C.J., writing for the Court. Petitioner Erson Ang Lee (through Super Lamination) is a sole proprietorship engaged in lamination services. Respondent Samahan ng mga Manggagawa ng Super Lamination Services (SMSLS‑NAFLU‑KMU) (Union A) is a labor organization that filed a Petition for Certification Election on 7 March 2008 to represent the rank‑and‑file employees of Super Lamination. On the same date, two other unions—Express Lamination Workers' Union (Union B) and Samahan ng mga Manggagawa ng Express Coat Enterprises, Inc. (Union C)—filed separate petitions to represent employees of Express Lamination Services, Inc. and Express Coat Enterprises, Inc., respectively. Express Lamination and Express Coat are separately incorporated entities registered with the SEC.At the DOLE regional level, the three companies (all represented by one counsel) challenged the petitions, arguing lack of an employer‑employee relationship and asserting that many persons listed as union members were actually employed by one of the other companies. On 21 May 2008, DOLE‑NCR Mediator‑Arbiter Michael Angelo Parado denied Unions B and C’s petitions; on 23 May 2008, Mediator‑Arbiter Alma Magdaraog‑Alba denied Union A’s petition—each finding no employer‑employee relationship with the company concerned.
The three unions appealed to the Office of the DOLE Secretary; the appeals were consolidated because the companies alternately pointed to one another as the employer of the same workers. By decision dated 8 May 2009, DOLE Undersecretary Romeo C. Lagman granted the consolidated appeals, reversed the Med‑Arbiters’ orders, and ordered the immediate conduct of certification elections among the rank‑and‑file employees of Express Lamination, Super Lamination, and Express Coat, treating them effectively as a single bargaining unit and applying the concept of multi‑employer bargaining under Department Order No. 40‑03.
Petitioner sought relief in the Court of Appeals (CA), which denied his petition and affirmed DOLE’s decision (CA decision dated 24 May 2010; resolution dated 21 September 2010 denying reconsideration). Pe...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Whether the doctrine of piercing the corporate veil is warranted to treat Super Lamination, Express Lamination, and Express Coat as one employer for purposes of a certification election.
- Whether the rank‑and‑file employees of the three companies constitute an appropri...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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