Employment Relationship & Cause of Action
The existence of employer-employee relationship between the parties-litigants, or a reasonable causal connection to such relationship is a jurisdictional prerequisite for the exercise of jurisdiction over a labor dispute by the Labor Arbiters or any other labor tribunals.
Despite the existence of employer-employee relationship, if the cause of action did not arise out of or was not incurred in connection with the employer-employee relationship, labor courts have no jurisdiction. Not every dispute between an employer and employee involves matters that only labor courts such as the Labor Arbiters and the NLRC can resolve in the exercise of their adjudicatory or quasi-judicial power. Actions between employers and employees where the employer-employee relationship is merely incidental should be filed with the regular courts.
Despite the existence of employer-employee relationship, if the cause of action did not arise out of or was not incurred in connection with the employer-employee relationship, labor courts have no jurisdiction. Not every dispute between an employer and employee involves matters that only labor courts such as the Labor Arbiters and the NLRC can resolve in the exercise of their adjudicatory or quasi-judicial power. Actions between employers and employees where the employer-employee relationship is merely incidental should be filed with the regular courts.