Flashcards Studio

A private manufacturing plant in Iligan City employing about 120 workers is alleged by a wage earner to have underpaid the minimum wage for the last six months and to have not paid the 13th month pay. The employee files a complaint with the DOLE Regional Office; a fact-finding investigation is conducted and the Regional Director issues a decision ordering the employer to pay back wages and penalties. The plant challenges the DOLE decision, arguing that the NLRC has exclusive jurisdiction over wage claims and that the DOLE decision is void. (a) Identify the governing doctrine that determines which forum has jurisdiction over this wage-claim case. (b) Distinguish the governing rules on jurisdiction between the DOLE Regional Director and the NLRC. (c) Apply the rules to the facts: which forum has proper jurisdiction at the initial stage and why, and what avenue of review (if any) exists for the other party?