Tel Aviv Labor Court Recognizes Workplace Incident as Cause of Mental and Physical Health Issues
The Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court recently ruled that a National Insurance Institute customer service manager proved the occurrence of a "special event" at work that may justify recognizing her mental impairment and fibromyalgia as work-related injuries. Judge Dafna Hasson Zakaria accepted the plaintiff's account that she was publicly humiliated in front of employees and clients and ordered medical experts to examine the causal link between the incident and her health condition.
The plaintiff had worked at the National Insurance Institute for many years and was appointed customer service department manager in 2014 after winning a tender. She was highly regarded professionally, and her department was recognized as outstanding under her leadership. However, after a new branch manager took office in 2019, the plaintiff claimed her treatment changed drastically. The new manager publicly criticized her, altered work procedures, revoked authorizations, held meetings excluding her, and portrayed her department as dysfunctional.
The crisis peaked in June 2020 when an employee declared she could not provide service outside her expertise. Instead of addressing the issue through the plaintiff, the employee contacted another supervisor, and the branch manager and HR manager handled the matter without involving the plaintiff, in front of employees and clients. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit in April 2023, stating she felt humiliated and that this event was the breaking point. She reported subsequent symptoms including insomnia, crying spells, dizziness, and body pain, leading to mental impairment and fibromyalgia, eventually relinquishing her managerial role.
The National Insurance Institute argued no special event occurred, only ongoing stress insufficient for work injury recognition. They claimed the incident was a routine conversation between the branch manager and employees, excluding the plaintiff, who continued working that day and sought medical care two months later. Judge Hasson Zakaria found the plaintiff's testimony credible and supported by other evidence, ruling the event was not a routine hallway talk but involved ignoring the department manager while others handled her responsibilities, damaging her professional status.
The court noted that even if prior tensions existed, a "peak event" occurred that day, significantly impacting the plaintiff. It emphasized that case law allows recognizing a special event amid ongoing stress if a distinct incident can be isolated. Consequently, the court confirmed the plaintiff proved a special work event and ordered appointing medical experts in mental health and rheumatology to assess the causal connection between the event and her mental impairment and fibromyalgia.
