The Court of Appeals Special 14th Division has decided that the Talents Association of GMA Network (TAG) are regular employees of media giant GMA Network, Inc. (GMA), upholding an earlier decision by the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC). In a decision promulgated on February 20, 2019, the CA dismissed the Petition for Certiorari filed by GMA.
This decision came three years after the Final Entry of Judgment by the NLRC declaring members of TAG as regular employees of GMA.
The 96 employees included in the decision worked with GMA for six months to 15 years as production assistants, researchers, transcriber, camera man, writer/producer, head writer, graphic designer, production designer, team head, segment producers, associate producer, supervising producers, executive producers, editor and other roles necessary and desirable in GMA’s course of business.
GMA filed a Petition for Certiorari ascribing grave abuse of discretion on the part of the NLRC when it affirmed the decision to regularize members of TAG.
The CA found the petition “unmeritorious,” because in this case “it is not shown that the NLRC exercised its judgment whimsically, arbitrarily or despotically by reason of passion and hostility considering that its findings are supported by substantial evidence.”
Regular employees
“The presumption is that when the work done is an integral part of the regular business of the employer and when the worker, relative to the employer, does not furnish an independent business or professional service, such work is a regular employment of such employee and not an independent contractor,” the CA said in the 19-page decision written by Associate Justice Zenaida Galapate-Laguilles, concurred by Associate Justices Mario Lopez and Gabriel Robeniol.
“Truly, without their work, petitioner GMA would have nothing to air, hence the private respondents’ services in the former’s television program were unquestionably necessary and essential,” the ruling added.
In its decision, the CA cited the “four-fold test” to determine employer-employee relationship.
“To determine the existence of an employer-employee relationship, case law has consistently applied the four-fold test, to wit: (a) the selection and engagement of the employee; (b) the payment of wages; (c) the power of dismissal; and (d) the employer’s power to control the employee on the means and methods by which the work is accomplished. Of these criteria, the so-called “control test” is generally regarded as the most crucial and determinative indicator of the presence or absence of an employer-employee relationship. Under this test, an employer-employee relationship is said to exist where the person for whom the services are performed reserves the right to control not only the end result but also the manner and means utilized to achieve the same,” the CA decision said.
GMA insisted that “TAG members are independent contractors since they rendered services for the company because of their talents, skills, training and expertise in performing their respective tasks as well as the high talent fees including the circumstances on how it is given to them,” as described in the ruling.
GMA issued a memorandum dated April 14, 2014 requiring its talents to register with the Bureau of Internal Revenue as independent contractors and issue receipts for the talent fees being paid to them.
The CA said that the “four-fold test” to determine employer-employee relationship, such as selection and engagement of the employee, the payment of wages, the power of dismissal, and the power to control the employee’s conduct, was duly established in the case.
Long battle
TAG filed a regularization complaint against GMA with the NLRC on June 4, 2014.
On June 22, 2015, the NLRC found that TAG members are regular employees of GMA and as such are entitled to security of tenure and all benefits and rights as regular employees.
In July 2015, GMA sacked 11 members of TAG in a new round of layoffs, despite a favorable ruling by the NLRC.
GMA appealed the decision but the NLRC again ruled in favor of TAG members on September 30, 2015, deciding that the remaining 97 complainants of TAG are regular employees of the network and eight complainants who submitted letters of resignation were considered regular employees only up to the date preceding their resignation.
The network company, however, assigned year 1 of regularization as 2016, which TAG members contested in a motion for clarification filed also at the CA. Some of the respondents have worked with the company for as long as 15 years.
On January 5, 2016, the NLRC upheld its September 30, 2015 decision on the regularization complaint filed by TAG.
 are regular employees of media giant GMA Network, Inc. (GMA), upholding an earlier decision by the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC).){kind=link}