Labor Law: R. A. No. 8042, as amended by R.A. No. 10022 (September 5, 2023)

Yellow: Discussed.
Red: Amendments.

An act to institute the policies of overseas employment and establish a higher standard of protection and promotion of the welfare of migrant workers, their families and overseas Filipinos in distress, and for other purposes.

Declaration of Policies:

• Emphasis on independent foreign policy and national sovereignty.
• Prioritization of citizens' dignity, especially Filipino migrant workers.
• Commitment to protect labor rights, locally and overseas.
• Promotion of full employment and equal job opportunities.
• Recognition of migrant workers' economic contributions.
• Focus on creating local job opportunities and wealth distribution.
• Gender-sensitive policies for female migrant workers.
• Ensuring access to legal assistance for all, regardless of poverty.
• Acknowledgment of migrant workers' right to participate in democratic processes.
• Promotion of skill development for migrant workers.
• Collaboration with non-governmental organizations for worker protection.
• Waiving government fees and administrative costs for recruitment.
• Encouragement of the deployment of overseas Filipino workers, with potential incentives for service contractors and manning agencies.

Definitions:

(a) “Migrant worker” refers to a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a renumerated activity in a state of which he or she is not a legal resident to be used interchangeably with overseas Filipino worker.

•  "Overseas Filipino worker" refers to a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a state of which he or she is not a citizen or on board a vessel navigating the foreign seas other than a government ship used for military or non-commercial purposes or on an installation located offshore or on the high seas; to be used interchangeably with migrant worker."

Q: Are TNTs covered? Freedom to access to the court.

    Who are included in "on installation located offshore or on the high seas"?

    

(b) “Gender-sensitivity” shall mean cognizance of the inequalities and inequities prevalent in society between women and men and a commitment to address issues with concern for the respective interests of the sexes.

(c) “Overseas Filipinos” refers to dependents of migrant workers and other Filipino nationals abroad who are in distress as mentioned in Sections 24 and 26 of this Act.

Deployment

• Where the rights of Filipino migrant workers are protected. 
• Any of the guarantees:
• It has existing labor and social laws protecting the rights of migrant workers;
• It is a signatory to multilateral conventions, declaration or resolutions relating to the protection of migrant workers;
• It has concluded a bilateral agreement or arrangement with the government protecting the rights of overseas Filipino workers; and
• Provided, it is taking positive, concrete measures to protect the rights of migrant workers.

Termination or Non-Deployment

POEA Governing Board, after consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs

• In pursuit of the national interest
• When public welfare so requires

Illegal Recruitment

• Any recruitment activity committed by non-licensees / non-holders of authority
• canvassing
• enlisting
• contracting
• transporting
• utilizing
• hiring
• procuring workers
• referring
• contract services
• promising
• advertising for employment abroad
• Prohibited Acts:

1. Charging or accepting fees beyond the prescribed limits.
2. Publishing false information about recruitment or employment.
3. Providing false information to secure a license under Labor Code.
4. Encouraging workers to leave their jobs, except to improve their working conditions.
5. Influencing others not to employ workers who did not go through their agency.
6. Engaging in recruitment for morally or socially harmful jobs.
7. Obstructing inspections by labor authorities.
8. Failing to submit required reports.
9. Altering employment contracts without approval.
10. Conflicts of interest with travel agencies.
11. Withholding travel documents for unauthorized financial gain.
12. Failing to deploy workers without valid reasons.
13. Not reimbursing workers for expenses incurred in documentation and processing when deployment failed to happen.
14. Allowing a non-Filipino citizen to head or manage a licensed recruitment/manning agency.

• Additional prohibited acts:

1. Granting loans to OFWs with interest rates exceeding 8% per annum for paying placement fees and requiring them to issue postdated checks for such loans.
2. Requiring OFWs to obtain loans only from specific institutions or individuals.
3. Refusing to forgive or renegotiate loans incurred by OFWs when their employment contracts are prematurely terminated through no fault of their own.
4. Mandating OFWs to undergo health examinations exclusively at designated clinics, except for seafarers whose medical exams are covered by principals/shipowners.
5. Compelling OFWs to receive training from specified institutions, except for recommended training paid for by principals/shipowners.
6. Allowing suspended recruitment/manning agencies to engage in any recruitment activities, including processing pending applications.
7. Passing on or deducting insurance-related costs, fees, or premiums from an OFW's salary under compulsory worker's insurance coverage by recruitment agencies or foreign employers

• Syndicate Recruitment:
• Carried out by a group of three or more individuals conspiring together
• Large-Scale Illegal Recruitment:
• It is committed against three or more victims individually or as a group.
• Criminal Liability:
• principals, accomplices, and accessories.
• juridical persons: officers with control, management, or direction of the business.
• Filing of cases:
• Who may initiate?
• Secretary of Labor and Employment
• POEA Administrator 
• or their duly authorized representatives

Penalties

• Illegal Recruitment
• Imprisonment ranging from 12 years and 1 day to 20 years and a fine of P1,000,000 to P2,000,000.
• Economic sabotage:
• Life imprisonment and a fine of P2,000,000 to P5,000,000.
• Maximum Penalty:
• Victim is under 18 years of age
• Committed by a non-licensee or non-holder of authority.
• Prohibited Acts
• Imprisonment ranging from 6 years and 1 day to 12 years and a fine of P500,000 to P1,000,000.
• Alien
• Additional penalty of deportation without further proceedings
• Conviction
• Automatic revocation of the license or registration

Prohibition on Officials and Employees

Recruitment of Migrant Workers

• Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
• Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)
• Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)
• Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
• other government agencies involved in the implementation of this Act
• Their relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity

Venue

• Regional Trial Court 
• where the offense was committed or
• where the offended party actually resides at the same time of the commission of the offense

Money Claims

• Exclusive Jurisdiction:
• Labor Arbiters of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC)
• Decision within 90 calendar days of filing
• Joint and Several Liability
• Both the principal employer and the recruitment/placement agency 
• Must be included in the overseas employment contract as a condition for approval
• Recruitment/placement agency's performance bond is responsible 
• Corporate officers, directors, and partners are jointly and solidarily liable with the agency
• Continuing Liability:
• Throughout the employment contract
• Unaffected by any local or foreign contract changes.
• Settlements and Payment:
• Must be paid within thirty (30) days of approval by the appropriate authority.
• Termination Compensation:
• Workers terminated from overseas employment without just cause are entitled to:
• Full reimbursement of their placement fee with 12% interest per annum.
• Salaries for the unexpired portion of their contract or three months for each year remaining, whichever is less.
• Penalties for Non-compliance:
• Withholding of their salaries
• Suspension for up to 90 days, or
• Dismissal from service with disqualification from holding public office for five years.

Mandatory Period for Resolution of Illegal Recruitment Cases

• Preliminary Investigation:
• thirty (30) calendar days from the date of their filing
• Filing of Information:
• twenty-four (24) hours from the termination of the investigation of prosecution
• forty-eight (48) hours from the date of receipt of the records of the case of a judge

Prescriptive Periods

• Illegal Recruitment
• five (5) years
• Economic Sabotage:
• twenty (20) years