FUNCTIONS of the NLRC

The NLRC has the following basic functions:

Promulgate rules and regulations governing the hearing and disposition of cases before it and its
regional branches, as well as those pertaining to its internal functions and such rules and regulations as
may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the Labor Code;

Administer oaths, summon the parties to a controversy, issue subpoenas requiring the
attendance and testimony of witnesses or the production of such books, papers, contracts, records,
statements of accounts, agreements and others as may be material to a just determination of the
matter under investigation, and to testify in any investigation or hearing conducted in pursuance of the
Labor Code.

Conduct investigation for the determination of a question, matter of controversy within its
jurisdiction, proceed to hear and determine the disputes in the absence of any party thereto who has
been summoned or served with notice to appear; conduct its proceedings or any part thereof in public
or in private, adjourn its hearings to any time and place, refer technical matters or accounts to an expert
and accept his report as evidence after hearing of the parties upon due notice, direct parties to be
joined in or excluded from the proceedings; correct, amend or waive any error, defect or irregularity,
whether in substance or in form, give all such directions as it may deem necessary or expedient in the
determination of the dispute before it, and dismiss any matter of refrain from hearing further or from
determining the dispute or part thereof, where it is trivial or where further proceedings by the
Commission are not necessary or desirable;

Hold any person in contempt, directly or indirectly and impose appropriate penalties therefor in
accordance with law;

Enjoin or restrain any actual or thereatened commission of any or all prohibited or unlawful acts
or to require the performance of a particular act in any labor dispute which, if not restrained or
performed forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable damage to any party or render ineffectual any
decision in favor of such party, subject to certain provisions provided in the Labor Code; and

Perform such other functions as may be provided by law or assigned by the Secretary.


JURISDICTION OF LABOR ARBITERS
Unencumbered by technical rules of evidence and procedure prevailing in courts of law, the
Commissions and Labor Arbiters shall exert effort at resolving disputes judiciously, fairly and
expeditiously with prior resort to amicable settlement.

Article 217 of the Labor Code, the Labor Arbiters shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear
and decide the following cases involving all workers, whether agricultural or non-agricultural:

a. Unfair labor practice cases;

b. Termination disputes;

c. If accompanied with a claim for reinstatement, those cases that workers may file involving
wages, rates of pay, hours of work and other terms and conditions of employment;

d. Claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of damages arising from employer-
employee relations;

e. Cases arising from any violation of Article 264 of the Labor Code, as amended, including
questions involving the legality of strikes and lockouts;

f. Except claims for employees compensation not included in the next succeeding paragraph,
social security, medicare, and maternity benefits, all other claims arising from employer-employee
relations, including those of persons in domestic or household service, involving an amount exceeding
Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00), whether or not accompanied with a claim for reinstatement;

g. Money claims arising out of employer-employee relationship or by virtue of any law or contract,
involving Filipino workers for overseas deployment, including claims for actual, moral, exemplary and
other forms of damages;

h. Wage distortion disputes in unorganized establishments not voluntarily settled by the parties
pursuant to Republic Act No. 6727;

i. Enforcement of compromise agreements when there is non-compliance by any of the parties
pursuant to Article 227 of the Labor Code, as amended; and

j. Other cases as may be provided by law.


JURISDICTION OF THE COMMISSION

Article 217
Decision, awards or orders of the Labor Arbiters are appealed to the Commission through its
Decisions, with the First, Second and Third, handling cases from the National Capital Region and other
parts of Luzon; the Fourth and Fifth, handling cases from the Visayas and Mindanao, respectively.

Article 218
The Commission resolves national interest cases certified to it by the Secretary of Labor, as well
as petitions which seek to enjoin or restrain any actual or threatened commission of prohibited or
unlawful acts in any labor disputes.

Article 129
Decisions of Regional Directors or hearing officers on small money claims are appealable to the
Commission.