February 2018 News Flash – Employment Law

Stricter enforcement in respect of occupational safety violations

The Law for Increased Enforcement of Labor Law came into effect in 2012 with its declared objective being to increase the enforcement of labor laws as a result of the growing phenomenon of noncompliance with the Israeli labor laws.

The law instituted a new administrative enforcement proceeding, whereby senior labor inspectors from the Ministry of Labor were authorized to take action to enforce the labor laws, by issuing administrative warnings and imposing fines on employers for violations of particular labor laws specified in the addendum to the law.

If the employer is a corporation, the law prescribes that the CEO is obligated to oversee and take all reasonable measures to prevent violations by the corporation that he/she heads, since otherwise, the CEO is liable to bear personal liability and be charged a fine of 50% of the fine that may be imposed on the corporation in respect of the relevant violations.

The list of violations subject to enforcement under the said law was updated, and as of 1 January 2018, a long list of occupational safety offenses was added to the addendum to the law for which an administrative warning may be issued or a fine imposed. Such violation include, among others, safety of work surfaces, safety for employees working at height and the organization and management of safety procedures.

In light of the stricter administrative enforcement relating to safety violations, we recommend that employers verify whether they are complying with the statutory requirements pertaining to occupational safety obligations.

Special mandatory retirement age for a person whose child has died

A new law pertaining Retirement Age Law for a person whose child has died was promulgated on December 14, 2017.

The general Retirement Age Law, which was enacted in 2004, prescribed that the mandatory retirement age is 67, and that employers can force an employee to retire once he reaches that age.

Notwithstanding the general Retirement Age Law, the new law prescribes that an employee who has worked at the same workplace for at least seven years prior to reaching the mandatory retirement age, and whose child has died, will not be obligated to retire at age 67 and will be entitled to continue working, if he wants to, until the age of 71, and the employer will be prevented from forcing him to retire.

The new law applies to employers who employ more than 25 employees. The law will not apply to particular professions specified in the law, such as firefighters, police officers, pilots, prison guards and security service personnel.

In essence, that employee whose child has died and will not be interested in retiring, but will request to continue working after reaching the age of 67, will be allowed to do so and his employer will not be allowed to force him to retire.

The law does not specify any specific causes for the death of a child and therefore, at this stage, the law will apply to every parent whose child has died, unless otherwise specified in the regulations.

If an employer is found in violation of this law, the labor court was authorized to award financial compensation to the employee, even without proof of financial damage.

At this stage, the law will be in effect for only four years as of 01.01.2018, and the Minister of Social Equality is tasked with conducting research in this regard and submitting his findings within three years.