FACTS: Private respondent was employed as a quality control inspector with the duty of inspecting LPB cylinders for any possible defects. He was dismissed when he was allegedly caught by petitioner’s company President for sleeping on the job, thereby violating Company Rule 15-b. he was asked to explain why no disciplinary action should be taken against him, to which he promptly replied. Notwithstanding his reply, he was terminated. The Labor Arbiter found for the company. The NLRC reversed the decision ordering petitioner to reinstate petitioner with full backwages.
ISSUE: Whether or not private respondent was illegally dismissed.
HELD: Yes. In termination disputes, the burden of proof is always on the employer to show that dismissal was for a just and valid cause. Petitioner’s claim that private respondent slept on the job was not substantiated by any evidence. In other cases, sleeping on the job was found as a valid ground for dismissal because such cases involved security guards whose duly necessities that they be awake and watchful at all times. While an employer is allowed a wide discretion in the promulgation of company policies, such should be fair and reasonable. In this case, the dismissal meted out on a private respondent for sleeping on the job appears to be harsh a penalty.
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