Base.php

<?php

namespace App;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class Base extends Model
{
    public function scopeSearch($query, $fields, $search_args)
    {
        if(count($fields) > 0){
            foreach ($fields as $field_string => $field_value) {
                // split field names
                $multiple_fields = explode('|', $field_string);

                foreach ($multiple_fields as $field_name) {
                    if(isset($search_args[$field_name])) {
                        // get field comparison method
                        switch($search_args[$field_name])
                        {
                            case 'e':
                                $query->orWhere($field_name, '=', $field_value);
                            break;
                            case 'l':
                                $query->where($field_name, 'LIKE', '%' . $field_value . '%');
                            break;
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        return $query;
    }
}