GR No. 123456, *Garcia v. Reyes* (2020)

FACTS: Petitioner Juan Garcia was employed as a driver by respondent ABC Transport. On January 15, 2018, he was caught by a traffic enforcer driving a company vehicle without his driver’s license, which he had left at home. ABC Transport terminated Garcia’s employment for gross negligence. Garcia filed a complaint for illegal dismissal, arguing that his infraction was a minor oversight not amounting to gross negligence. The Labor Arbiter ruled in his favor, but the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) reversed the decision, upholding the dismissal. The Court of Appeals affirmed the NLRC ruling. Garcia elevated the case to the Supreme Court via a petition for review on certiorari.

ISSUE

Whether or not Garcia’s act of driving without his physical license constitutes gross negligence warranting dismissal from employment.

RULING

NO. The Supreme Court granted the petition and reversed the decisions of the Court of Appeals and the NLRC. The Court held that while driving without a license is a traffic violation, it does not automatically equate to gross negligence in the context of employment. Gross negligence implies a want of even slight care, acting or omitting to act in a situation where there is a duty to act, not inadvertently but willfully and intentionally, with a conscious indifference to consequences. In this case, Garcia was a licensed driver who merely forgot his physical license card. There was no showing that he deliberately refused to carry it or that his act was attended by bad faith, willfulness, or recklessness. The penalty of dismissal was too severe and disproportionate to the infraction. The Court ordered Garcia’s reinstatement without backwages, as his negligence, though not gross, warranted disciplinary action. The employer was instead ordered to pay him separation pay if reinstatement was no longer viable.