Fuji Television Network, Inc. vs. Espiritu Summary

FUJI TELEVISION NETWORK, INC., PETITIONER, VS. ARLENE S. ESPIRITU, RESPONDENT

G.R. Nos. 204944-45 | 2014-12-03

Non-compliance with the requirements or submission of a defective verification and certification against forum shopping

Certification and verification against forum shopping, officials who may sign without need of a board resolution
Termination, disease as a ground for dismissal; requires a certification by a competent public health authority; requirement substantive, not merely procedural
Independent contractor, in possession of unique skills and talents and the lack of control over the means and methods in the performance of the work
Employer-employee relationship, power to control refers to the existence of the power and not necessarily to the actual exercise thereof
Certification against forum shopping must be signed by all the plaintiffs or petitioners in a case; except when petitioners share a common interest and invoke a common cause of action or defense,signature of only is substantial compliance
Fixed term employee; The repeated renewal of fixed term contract coupled with the nature of work performed pointed to the regular nature of the employment
Employer-employee relationship, control test

D E C I S I O N

LEONEN, J.:

It is the burden of the employer to prove that a person whose services it pays for is an independent contractor rather than a regular employee with or without a fixed term. That a person has a disease does not per se entitle the employer to terminate his or her services. Termination is the last resort. At the very least, a competent public health authority must certify that the disease cannot be cured within six (6) months, even with appropriate treatment.

We decide this petition for review^[1] on certiorari filed by Fuji Television Network, Inc., seeking the reversal of the Court of Appeals’...