Software Firm Owner Personally Liable for Firing Pregnant Employee Illegally
A Tel Aviv labor court has ordered the former owner and CEO of software company ATN Holdings and Real Estate Entrepreneurship, Ovedia Toporovich, to personally pay NIS 166,000 to a former employee, Tami Levy, whom he fired in late pregnancy without legal authorization. The company was also ordered to pay the same amount.
Levy, employed as a software developer since July 2017, informed Toporovich of her pregnancy in March 2019. The company faced a severe cash flow crisis shortly after, leading Toporovich to inform female employees in June that their employment could not continue. Levy reminded him in writing that firing her or reducing her salary during pregnancy was illegal and expressed willingness to consider any solutions he proposed.
Despite this, Levy was terminated in August, two weeks before giving birth, following the company's closure. She sued for NIS 350,000, primarily arguing she was fired during pregnancy without the required approval from the Supervisor of Women's Employment. ATN and Toporovich claimed the firing was due to the company's collapse, not Levy's pregnancy, and alleged she caused them NIS 1 million in damages while receiving pay for no work.
Judge Kamal Abu-Kaoud accepted the defense's argument that the firing was for economic reasons, not pregnancy-related. However, he ruled the termination violated the law, stating the requirement to obtain approval from the supervisor applies even if the employer was unaware of the pregnancy or the decision was unrelated to it. Levy was therefore entitled to 150% of her salary until two months after her birth, plus NIS 20,000 in compensation for violating the Equal Opportunities Law, acknowledging the firing itself wasn't due to pregnancy.
The court also addressed Toporovich's personal liability, citing precedent that an individual acting for a corporation must avoid employing staff if there's a significant risk the company cannot meet its obligations. In this case, Toporovich, who managed the company and knew its dire financial state, continued to employ staff, knowingly taking an "unreasonable risk" regarding the company's ability to fulfill its commitments. Evidence showed the company struggled to pay salaries from regular sources, often relying on last-minute loans and "miracles," as Toporovich himself described it, while assuring employees like Levy that the situation would improve. The judge rejected the defendants' claim of damages caused by Levy, as it was unproven, and ordered them to pay NIS 15,000 in legal expenses.
