People vs. Panis,142 SCRA 664G.R. Nos.

L-58674-77 July 11, 1990

FAST FACTS: SerapioAbug was charged with illegal recruitment. His defense was that the informationsfiled against him did not
constitute an offense because in each of the four informations filed againsthim, each denote that he was only recruiting one person
whereas the statute requires two or morepersons

ISSUE: Determination of the proper interpretationof Art 13(b) of PD 442/ Labor Code:

b) Recruitment and placement' refers to any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting,transporting, hiring, or procuring workers, and
includes referrals, contract services, promising or advertising for employment, locally or abroad, whether for profit or not: Provided,
That any person or entity which, in any manner, offers or promises for a fee employment to two or more persons shall be deemed
engaged in recruitment and placement.

HELD: The specification of two or more persons is not to create a condition prior to filing but rather itstates a presumption that the
individual is engaged in recruitment in consideration of a fee, however thenumber of persons is not an essential ingredient to the act
of recruitment or placement, and it will stillqualify even if only one person has been involved.

Linton Commercial vs. Hellera et. al
[G.R. No. 163147. Oct. 10, 2007]

Facts:
Claiming financial losses, Linton implemented a compressed workweek by reducing from six to three the
number of working days with the employees working on a rotation basis.

Issue:
Was there an illegal reduction of work hours?

Held:
In Philippine Graphic Arts, Inc. v. NLRC, the Court upheld for the validity of the reduction of working hours,
taking into consideration the following: the arrangement was temporary, it was a more humane solution
instead of a retrenchment of personnel, there was notice and consultations with the workers and supervisors, a
consensus were reached on how to deal with deteriorating economic conditions and it was sufficiently proven
that the company was suffering from losses.

The Bureau of Working Conditions of the DOLE released a bulletin which states that a reduction of the number
of regular working days is valid where the arrangement is resorted to by the employer to prevent serious losses
due to causes beyond his control, such as when there is a substantial slump in the demand for his goods or
services or when there is lack of raw materials.

Although the bulletin stands more as a set of directory guidelines than a binding set of implementing rules, it
has one main consideration, consistent with the ruling in Philippine Graphic Arts Inc., in determining the validity
of reduction of working hours that the company was suffering from losses. A close examination of petitioners
financial reports showed that while Linton suffered from losses for that year, there remained enough earnings
to sufficiently sustain its operations.

Financial losses must be shown before a company can validly opt to reduce the work hours of its employees.
However, to date, no definite guidelines have yet been set to determine whether the alleged losses are sufficient
to justify the reduction of work hours.

If the standards set in determining the justifiability of financial losses in retrenchment (Art 283) or suspension
of work (Art 286) were to be considered, Arco would fail to meet the standards. On the one hand, Article 286
applies only when there is a bona fide suspension of the employers operation of a business or undertaking for a
period not exceeding six (6) months; but in this case, Linton continued its business operations during the
effectivity of the compressed workweek, which was more than 6 months.

On the other hand, for retrenchment to be justified, any claim of actual or potential business losses must satisfy
the following standards:
(1) the losses incurred are substantial and not de minimis;
(2) the losses are actual or reasonably imminent;
(3) retrenchment is reasonably necessary and is likely tobe effective in preventing expected losses; and
(4) the alleged losses, if already incurred, or the expected imminent losses sought to be forestalled, are
proven by sufficient and convincing evidence.
Linton failed to comply with these standards.







Life is the sum of experiences that we encounter as we go through life. Day to day struggles
and triumphs are experienced by all of the world's creatures. As human beings, when we
encounter a challenge, we have freedom to choose how to react. Every decision that we make
leads us down a different road. We will never come to exactly the same crossroads. Every
decision the we make has significance. The tiniest choice that we make reverberates throughout
the entire universe.

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