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Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE:
An employee’s guilt or innocence in a criminal case is not determinative of the existence of a just or authorized cause for his or her dismissal.
Hence, conviction in a criminal case is not necessary to find just cause for termination of employment. (St. Luke’s Medical Center, Inc. v. Maria Theresa Sanchez, G.R. No. 212054, March 11, 2015)
Otherwise stated, an employee’s acquittal in a criminal case, especially one that is grounded on the existence of reasonable doubt, will not preclude a determination in a labor case that he is guilty of acts inimical to the employer’s interests. (Copy Central Digital Copy Solution v. Marilyn Domrique and Carina Leaño, G.R. No. 193219, July 17, 2015)
Under the Labor Code of the Philippines, an employer may terminate an employment for the commission of a crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representative and other causes analogous to the foregoing. (Article 297, Labor Code)
The law says:
“An employer may terminate an employment for any of the following causes:
xxx
(d) Commission of the crime or offense by the employee against the person of his employer or any immediate member of his family or his duly authorized representative.
(e) Other causes analogous to the foregoing.” (Article 297, Labor Code)
Department Order No. 147, series of 2015 issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE D.O. No. 147-15), qualifies the term “commission of a crime or offense” as an offense by the employee against the person of his/her employer or any member of his/her family or his/her duly authorized representative. (Section 4, par. d, Rule I-A, DOLE D.O. No. 147-15)
The Department Order provides:
For the commission of a crime or offense to be a valid ground for termination of employment, the following requisites must be present:
- “There must be an act or omission punishable or prohibited by law; and
- The act or omission was committed by the employee against the person of the employer, any immediate member of his or her family, or his or her duly authorized representative.”
In the article “Commission of a Crime as a Just Cause for Termination”, we learned that not every crime or offense can serve as grounds for termination. Termination must be justified by a crime or offense that directly involves physical harm or injury to an individual, as explicitly stated under the law.
What if the crime or offense is not one that is contemplated under the foregoing? Is it necessary that a conviction first be had before an employer can validly terminate the services of an erring employee?
Jurisprudence says: NO.
In the case of Warlito Piedad v. Lanao Del Norte Electric Cooperative, Inc. (G.R. No. 73735, August 31, 1987), the Supreme Court ruled that conviction for a crime involving the loss of such funds is not necessary before the employee may be dismissed. An employer may dismiss an employee for breach of trust in handling funds in spite of having been acquitted in the course of a criminal prosecution.
In another case (Lolita Concepcion v. Minex Import Corporation, G.R. No. 153569, January 24, 2012), the Supreme Court sustained the validity of an employee’s termination ruling that neither a criminal prosecution nor a conviction beyond reasonable doubt for the crime is a requisite for the validity of the dismissal. An employer may validly dismiss for loss of trust and confidence an employee who commits an act of fraud prejudicial to the interest of the employer.
In yet another case (St. Luke’s Medical Center, Inc. v. Ma. Theresa Sanchez, G.R. No. 212054, March 11, 2015) the Supreme Court held:
“An employee’s guilt or innocence in a criminal case is not determinative of the existence of a just or authorized cause for his or her dismissal. It is well-settled that conviction in a criminal case is not necessary to find just cause for termination of employment, as in this case. Criminal and labor cases involving an employee arising from the same infraction are separate and distinct proceedings which should not arrest any judgment from one to the other.”
In the case of Copy Central Digital Copy Solution v. Marilyn Domrique and Carina Leaño (G.R. No. 193219, July 17, 2015), the Supreme Court similarly ruled that a criminal conviction is not necessary to find just cause for employment termination, viz:
“A criminal conviction is not necessary to find just cause for employment termination. Otherwise stated, an employee’s acquittal in a criminal case, especially one that is grounded on the existence of reasonable doubt, will not preclude a determination in a labor case that he is guilty of acts inimical to the employer’s interests. In the reverse, the finding of probable cause is not followed by automatic adoption of such finding by the labor tribunals. In other words, whichever way the public prosecutor disposes of a complaint, the finding does not bind the labor tribunal.”
Related Article/s:
Commission of a Crime as a Just Cause for Termination
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