Basketball Referee not an employee, Supreme Court rules

The Philippine Supreme Court recently ruled that a referee hired by the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is not an employee but rather an independent contractor. In the case of Bernarte v. PBA, G.R. No. 192084, September 14, 2011, a referee whose contract was not renewed following its expiration accused the PBA of illegal dismissal. He won before the Labor Arbiter and the NLRC which both held that he was an employee who was illegally dismissed and, therefore, entitled to backwages, damages and attorney’s fees. The Court of Appeals, however, reversed the decision prompting the referee to elevate the case to the Supreme Court where he contended that he is an employee since the PBA exercised control over the performance of his work. More particularly, he cited the following stipulations in the contract to show evidence of control: (1) the PBA classifies or rates the referee; (2) the PBA requires the referee to attend all basketball games at least one hour before the start of the first game of each day; (3) the PBA assigns the referee to officiate ballgames, two hours per game; and (4) the only deduction from the fees received by the referee is the withholding tax.

Finding for the PBA, the Supreme Court stated that the element of control is missing in this case, making the referee an independent contractor and not an employee of PBA. According to the Tribunal, the aforementioned stipulations hardly demonstrate control over the means and methods by which Mr. Bernarte performs his work as a referee officiating a PBA basketball game. The contractual stipulations do not pertain to, much less dictate, how and when he will blow the whistle and make calls. On the contrary, they merely serve as rules of conduct or guidelines in order to maintain the integrity of the professional basketball league. As correctly observed by the Court of Appeals, “how could a skilled referee perform his job without blowing a whistle and making calls? x x x [H]ow can the PBA control the performance of work of a referee without controlling his acts of blowing the whistle and making calls?”

In ruling for the PBA, the Supreme Court further called attention to other circumstances that point to petitioner’s being an independent contractor:

“We agree with respondents that once in the playing court, the referees exercise their own independent judgment, based on the rules of the game, as to when and how a call or decision is to be made. The referees decide whether an infraction was committed, and the PBA cannot overrule them once the decision is made on the playing court. The referees are the only, absolute, and final authority on the playing court. Respondents or any of the PBA officers cannot and do not determine which calls to make or not to make and cannot control the referee when he blows the whistle because such authority exclusively belongs to the referees. The very nature of petitioner’s job of officiating a professional basketball game undoubtedly calls for freedom of control by respondents.”

Posted on Apr 26, 2012 in News Updates | 0 comments