MCQ - Bar Exam 2011 (Labor Law)

No song for today as things in law school are starting to get major, major complications at the advent of the forthcoming 2011 Bar Exams in the Philippines, as the pioneer in a Multiple-Choice type of exam. It was announced over a month ago that at least 60% of the questions in the bar exam of 2011 will be multiple choice questions or MCQs.

It was said over and over again that the burden of formulating MCQs would be on the examiners. I got the chance of formulating my own MCQs in Labor Law exam. My target was 12 questions for Labor law, but was only able to make 7. I admit there are flaws in my formulation and I want to share it with you so that you can post your comments later on.

Please bear with me because the following are the questions I personally formulated (or copied/developed from some Supreme Court Decisions). Below is an example of the Multiple Choice Questions with answers (as indicated by the quoted Article or Jurisprudence after the selection) for Labor Law:


1. In the event that the contractor or subcontractor fails to pay the wages of his employees in accordance with this Code, the employer shall:
a) be responsible to the workers in the same manner and extent as if the latter were directly employed by him.
b) be jointly and severally liable with the job contractor for the payment of wages only.
c) be jointly and severally liable with his contractor or subcontractor to such employees (Art 106)
d) be considered the employer of the contractual employee for purposes of enforcing the provisions of the Labor Code

2. In order to divest the Regional Director or his representatives of jurisdiction, the following elements must be present:
(a) that the employer contests the findings of the labor regulations officer and raises issues thereon;
(b) that in order to resolve such issues, there is a need to examine evidentiary matters;
(c) that such matters are not verifiable in the normal course of inspection.
(d) that the employer shall raise such objections during the hearing of the case or at any time after receipt of the notice of inspection results (see EX-BATAAN VETERANS SECURITY AGENCY, INC., vs THE SECRETARY OF LABOR)

3. The preferential right of workers and employees under Article 110 of the Labor  Code may be invoked against the company:
a) upon the institution of insolvency or judicial liquidation proceeding (See Article 110 or Rubberworld vs NLRC, 4-14-1999)
b) only upon the institution of rehabilitation proceedings
c) upon the satisfaction of claims of creditors from the corporation assets corporation
d) upon the payment of tax deficiency of the corporation

4. Health personnel in cities and municipalities with a population of at least one million (1,000,000) or in hospitals and clinics with a bed capacity of at least one hundred (100) shall hold regular office hours for eight (8) hours a day, for five (5) days a week, exclusive of time for meals, except where the exigencies of the service require that such personnel work for six (6) days or forty-eight (48) hours, in which case they shall be
a) entitled to a full weekly wage for seven (7) days if they have completed the 40-hour/5-day workweek in any given workweek
b) entitled to an additional compensation of at least thirty per cent (30%) of their regular wage for work on the sixth day (Art 83. See San Juan de Dios Hospital vs NLRC, 11-28-1997)
c) entitled to as much rest as other workers
d) entitles the privileges of equal working hours with other workers

5. For a strike to be valid, it must comply with Article 263 of the Labor Code, which procedurally requires the following except:
(a) a notice of strike be filed with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 30 days before the intended date thereof, or 15 days in case of unfair labor practice
(b) a strike vote be approved by a majority of the total union membership in the bargaining unit concerned, obtained by secret ballot in a meeting called for that purpose
(c) a notice be given to the DOLE of the results of the voting at least seven days before the intended strike
(d) an actual strike has to be launched (Art 263, See Phimco vs Phimco Labor Association, 8-10-2010)

6. The 13th-month pay mandated by Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 851 represents an additional income based on wage but not part of the wage.  It includes or is equivalent to:
a) cost-of-living allowances granted pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 525
b) one-twelfth (1/12) of the total basic salary earned by an employee within a calendar year
c) overtime pay, earnings, and other remuneration
d) cash equivalent of unused vacation and sick leave credits, night differential and holiday pay

7) The hiring, firing, transfer, demotion, and promotion of employees are traditionally identified as management prerogatives. However, management prerogatives are subject to limitations such as the following except:
a) those found in law
b) those established in a collective bargaining agreement
c) those intended by free will of the management (See University of Sto. Tomas vs. NLRC, 190 SCRA 758)
d) those validly accepted as general principles of fair play and justice


If you have comments, don't forget to write them down. I hope I could improve on that.