Rami Levy Supermarkets Faces Lawsuit Over Deducting Cash Shortages from Employee Wages
Translated & summarized from Kipa by baba
An Israeli labor court approved a class-action lawsuit against Rami Levy supermarkets for deducting cash register shortages from employee wages. Former cashiers filed the suit, arguing the practice was illegal. The court ruled that register shortages are not legal debts and cannot be deducted from salaries, also noting the company's "absolute responsibility" policy and rejecting the validity of signed deduction forms.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- An Israeli labor court approved a class-action lawsuit against Rami Levy supermarkets.
- The lawsuit concerns the deduction of cash shortages from employees' wages.
- The court ruled that register shortages are not legal debts.
- Former cashiers Meir Edri and Baruch Shaltiel filed the suit.
- The court criticized the company's "regime of absolute responsibility" policy.
An Israeli labor court has approved a class-action lawsuit against the Rami Levy supermarket chain, which alleges the company illegally deducted cash shortages from employees' salaries. The lawsuit, filed by former cashiers Meir Edri and Baruch Shaltiel, centers on the practice of making cashiers pay for discrepancies found in their registers at the end of their shifts, either by deducting the amount from their wages or requiring them to cover the difference out of pocket.
The Regional Labor Court in Jerusalem ruled that a shortage in a supermarket till cannot be considered a "debt" under the law, and therefore cannot be deducted from an employee's wages. The court distinguished between an employee's operational responsibility for a cash register and a legal debt owed to the employer, stating that a shortage is a claimed damage incurred during work, not a pre-defined, undisputed sum.
The court also addressed evidence suggesting the chain implemented a "regime of absolute responsibility," where cashiers were held accountable for shortages even when the cause could not be determined. Furthermore, the court rejected the argument that employees signing a "deduction approval form" was sufficient grounds for the company to collect the funds, noting that these forms were often signed under pressure at the end of shifts without full explanation.
