Labor laws in conflict with laws on marriage and women rights

Which law has superior strength: the labor law that allows employers their management prerogatives to, among others, discipline their employees, or the laws that protect marriage as an inviolable social institution? May management legally fire women who become pregnant or get married? May employers absolutely prohibit male employees from marrying female co-employees?

The law provides for balancing between rights. While employers have the inherent prerogative to formulate company policies on the proper behavior of their employees in the workplace, management is prohibited from interfering in the love affairs, marital life and pregnancies of their female employees. The powers of the employers are limited to the workplace and these are not legally allowed to extend to the personal and family relations of their employees. Individual freedom is protected by the Bill of Rights and marriage is defended as an inviolable social institution.

First principle, it is the prerogative of employers to choose the employees they want to recruit, hire and accept to their personnel force. But employers cannot discriminate against pregnant or married job applicants. Management cannot impose a stipulation in the job contract that employees are deemed automatically resigned once they get married or get pregnant. Even airline companies have been declared guilty of illegal dismissal for doing these. And even if there is such stipulation and the employees did sign the same, such contracts are considered null and void for being contrary to public policy. There is no estoppel in invalid agreements.

Second principle, it is also unlawful for any employer to impose a company policy that prohibits any employee from contracting marriage with another employee. And when there is such policy, and even when the union and the employees agreed to it, their consent and concurrence do not give a stamp of legality to what is inherently illegal. In the event that management invokes that policy and investigates, finds guilt and terminates the employment of any employee on account of intermarriage within the company, that dismissal shall be considered illegal for the precise reason that the policy itself is null and void for being contrary to law and public policy.

Third principle, we know very well that in cases of illegal dismissal, the law mandates that the illegally dismissed employees should be reinstated, paid full backwages or the compensation they failed to receive from the date of the illegal dismissal to the date of actual reinstatement. Full backwages include not only the basic pay but all regular allowances and the monetary equivalent of non-monetary benefits. These monetary awards shall earn a legal interest of six percent per annum compounded annually. In the event that reinstatement is no longer feasible, then the illegally dismissed employee shall be paid separation pay or retirement pay whichever is higher.

On top of these are moral damages and exemplary damages if the means, manners and methods of termination were highly in bad faith and/or oppressive, cruel and done in a wanton and malicious manner. Attorney's fees of ten percent are added too. That is why, I am always reminding employers and their HR managers to exercise extraordinary diligence in the manner of treating their employees on issues pertaining to marriage, family, pregnancies and interpersonal relationships. I have written a book now being published and distributed by Rex Bookstore entitled Sexual Harassment and LORSIW, which means, Love, Romances, Sex And Immorality in the Workplace. You should get a copy of such a useful book.

I have been going around the country to share my knowledge, insights and legal opinions on these issues and I have handled cases related to dismissals caused by extra-marital pregnancies and illegal termination of employment due to marriages. These are very delicate and important things that we should all know and be familiar with.