Client updates

An important ruling regarding workplace authority figures and the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace has established that one cannot automatically assume sexual comments or advances by an employee with managerial authority constitute sexual harassment. In this ruling, it appears, the National Labor Court has tempered to some extent widespread notions about sexual harassment by an authority figure.

According to a new amendment to the Male and Female Workers (Equal Pay) Law, employers must publish a yearly report outlining wage gaps between female and male employees. The amendment provides that certain employers must draft an internal yearly report detailing the average salary of their employees and the average wage gaps between men and women within each group of employees in the workplace.

The Israeli Securities Authority has announced that distribution entities now may be liable for the contents of a prospectus. In a staff position paper published in late July, the ISA changed the rules of the game in the underwriting field by determining that a distributor, or an entity associated with a distributor, that purchases securities during an issuance and sells them within a short period of time (six months or less) shall be viewed by the ISA as an underwriter and shall be liable for the prospectus.

The National Labor Court recently handed down an important ruling that concerns many employers in the market engaged with service provider companies. The National Labor Court ruled that although there were no employee-employer relations between the employee and its employer in this matter, the service user still had to take part in the employee’s termination and hearing process, in addition to the obligation of the direct employer to hold the hearing.

Israeli Minister of Finance Israel Katz’s plan to reduce purchase tax for investors has gone into effect. Until now, under plans advanced by the previous Minister of Finance, Moshe Kahlon, for lowering housing prices and pushing investors out of the real estate market, the purchase tax for investors went up from 5% to 8% for an apartment that was not the purchaser’s sole apartment.

A July decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union has established that in light of the fact the United States does not respect the privacy of its citizens in accordance with EU standards, the Privacy Shield mechanism allowing for personal data transfers between Europe and the US can no longer be relied upon. At the same time, in Israel, the Ministry of Justice has published a memorandum that constitutes the first step in adjusting existing law to the digital age.

There have been a few recent updates to statutory provisions and administrative procedures regarding employees and employers during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Apartment owners experiencing difficulty selling their old apartments are entitled to a seven-month extension in which to sell, and the Israel Tax Authority will not count this period for tax purposes.

The inter-ministerial team assembled to examine the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis on contractual agreements has recently published its recommendations.

The Israel Securities Authority announced a new relief for public companies regarding directors’ and officers’ liability insurance. This relief will enable companies to include in remuneration policies only the scope of the insurance coverage, without the other parameters required to date.

Although Israel is a world leader in the fintech field, companies operating in this area face many regulatory challenges. A newly published legal memorandum aims to enable the creation of a “sandbox”, with inspiration from various programs already implemented in Japan, Australia, and Singapore. The goal is to establish a unique experimental environment, a “regulatory sandbox,” where regulatory relief is granted to companies who choose to participate in the program.

As part of a broad change led by the Ministry of Finance to increase competition in the banking and financial services market, a memorandum for the Provision of Financial Information Services Law was recently published for public comments.

Prompted by the use of digital currencies to fund terror and other illegal activity, the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority has published a document aimed at assisting financial bodies and law enforcement agencies to identify improper activity in this field.

A hedge fund is an entity comprised of several investors seeking to invest in financial assets to achieve a common profit, where the execution of the investment may change from one fund to another, in accordance with the investment strategies put in place by the fund manager.

Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in the enforcement of accessibility issues in Israel. More and more companies are facing requests for certification of class action suits for failing to make services accessible to people with disabilities. Such proceedings, exempt from court fees, are initiated by lead plaintiffs against big and small organizations, from both the private and public sectors.

The State of Israel continues to cope with the COVID-19 crisis and its implications for the workforce. In recent days, new and important guidelines were updated for the Israeli workforce’s handling of the coronavirus crisis

A recent decision by the Economic Division of the Tel-Aviv District Court has emphasized the requirement for officers and decision makers in a company, to undertake a stricter review standard when making decisions, especially in conflict of interest situations. Accordingly companies must now increase the scrutiny on the decision making of directors in private companies, an important decision in light of the current economic climate.

The Israel Securities Authority has approved expanding the trading activity conducted on the trading platform for institutional investors of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (referred to as TACT), so that additional types of securities may be issued and traded on it.

A new, welcome initiative by the Israel Patent Office intends to allow entrepreneurs, through a preliminary and fast-tracked process, to submit an application for the provisional registration of a patent. This is a significant step, which could revolutionize entrepreneurial innovation in Israel and make it easier on many Israelis who wish to protect future patents. In the course of the fast-track process, the application is not considered for a year, and applicants are able to set an early submission date for the patent’s registration.

Several weeks ago, the Israel Securities Authority published a staff position paper on the consequences of the coronavirus crisis for the disclosure and financial reporting included in the 2020 first quarter report.