Practice question
A corporate employer is held liable for illegal dismissal and damages. A claimant asks that every director and HR employee automatically be solidarily liable, although the record shows no participation, malice, or bad faith by several of them and no other legal basis for personal liability. Which is correct?
- Corporate office alone makes everyone personally liable.
- Every employee of the corporation must pay the award.
- Naming an officer conclusively proves bad faith.
- Personal liability must have the applicable legal and factual basis; it does not arise automatically from title or employment alone.
- Corporate officers can never incur personal liability.
Legal references
- Bartolome v Toyota Quezon Avenue, G.R. No. 254465, April 3, 2024, damages, attorney’s fees and separation in lieu of reinstatement: https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2024/apr2024/gr_254465_2024.html
- Labor Code, DOLE consolidated 2022 edition, Articles 219, 258–260, 262–264, 274 and 278–279: https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/15242/PHL15242%202022.pdf; Article 111.
- Civil Code, Articles 2208, 2217, 2219, 2229 and 2232: https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra1949/ra_386_1949.html
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