Court Rules Against Rami Levy: Deducting Cash Shortages from Employee Wages Illegal

The Regional Labor Court in Jerusalem has approved a class-action lawsuit against the Rami Levy supermarket chain concerning deductions from employee wages for cash register shortages. The ruling stems from a petition filed by two former employees, Meir Edri and Baruch Shaltiel, who claimed they were forced to pay for shortages found in their registers. They argued these shortages do not constitute a "debt" as defined by Section 25(a)(6) of the Salary Protection Law, which allows for deductions of up to a quarter of an employee's salary based on a written commitment.

The court unequivocally stated that cash register shortages cannot be considered a "debt" under the specified section of the law, thus prohibiting such deductions from cashiers' wages. One petitioner, Meir Edri, who worked for the chain for about five months in 2018, was charged 45.70 shekels for a shortage in his register. Edri denied signing a deduction form, and the court noted doubts about the document's authenticity. The other petitioner, Baruch Shaltiel, who worked there for nearly six years, had 200 and 57.50 shekel deductions after signing authorizations.

The petitioners contended that shortages are not always the employee's fault, citing reasons like human error, counterfeit bills, customer deception, or counting mistakes. They also claimed that signatures on deduction forms were sometimes obtained under pressure at the end of a workday, and that supervisors sometimes refused to allow recounts. Rami Levy argued that deductions only occur with explicit written consent and that employees refuse to sign in about 30% of shortage cases, with the branch absorbing the loss. The chain cited a previous ruling to support its position.

Despite the chain's arguments, the court certified the class-action suit seeking the return of all deducted amounts. Rami Levy must file a defense within 30 days and publish a notice of the suit's approval in two daily newspapers. The court also awarded legal fees of 25,000 shekels to the petitioners' attorney and 4,000 shekels in expenses to each petitioner. The attorney stated this is an important decision for the labor world, emphasizing that employee wages are not an employer's insurance fund and business risks cannot be automatically transferred to employees.