Labour10/6/2026

Labor Court Approves Class Action Against Rami Levy Over Deductions from Cashiers’ Wages

The Jerusalem Regional Labor Court approved the adjudication, as a class action, of claims by former employees of the Rami Levy Shivuk Hashikma chain. The court ruled that a cash-register shortage is not an employee debt that may automatically be deducted from wages.

Key facts

•Court: Jerusalem Regional Labor Court
•Decision published: October 6, 2026
•Case number not stated in the source
•Legal basis: Section 25(a)(6) of the Wage Protection Law
•Plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees: NIS 25,000
•Costs: NIS 4,000 per applicant

What Happened

Former employees Meir Edri and Baruch She’altiel claimed that the chain deducted sums from their wages due to cash-register shortages or required them to deposit those sums in cash. The action seeks the return to cashiers of all sums collected in this manner. Edri worked as a cashier from March through August 2018, while She’altiel worked from February 2012 through November 2018, primarily as a cashier and later as a warehouse worker.

The Parties’ Positions

The chain argued that it acted in accordance with the law and established procedures, relying on consent forms signed voluntarily by the employees. The dispute centered on the interpretation of Section 25(a)(6) of the Wage Protection Law, which permits the deduction of a debt when the employee has provided a written undertaking.

Why the Court Rejected the Chain’s Arguments

The panel headed by Judge Rachel Berg-Hirschberg noted that Section 25 is intended to protect wages, including minimum wage and base salary, rather than impose the employer’s ordinary business risks on cashiers. In the court’s assessment, the chain effectively applied a strict-liability regime: employees were charged for shortages without proof of fault and without a full examination of technical errors, cashier substitutions, or inadequate training.

Consent Under Pressure and Legal Costs

The court accepted the employees’ testimony that, after the stores had closed, they were asked to sign deduction forms under an explicit or implicit threat that a pre-dismissal hearing would be held and they would then be dismissed. Deductions relating to disciplinary violations or negligence must be made through the procedures prescribed by law, not automatically from net wages. At the class-action certification stage itself, the chain was ordered to pay NIS 25,000 to the plaintiffs’ attorneys and NIS 4,000 in legal costs to each applicant.

Legislative Initiative

Following reports of the collection of shortage amounts, the Knesset approved in its first reading the so-called “Cashiers Law,” intended to protect employees from unlawful deductions. However, according to the source, its advancement has been frozen since February 2025, and the law has not received final approval.

What this means for you

An employer may not automatically treat a cash-register shortage as an employee debt and deduct it from wages based solely on a signed form. At this stage, the decision means that the claims have been approved for adjudication as a class action; the source does not indicate that specific reimbursement amounts have already been awarded to all class members. For employees in similar situations, the circumstances in which consent was signed, the existence of proven fault, and compliance with the procedure prescribed by law are significant.

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Case analysis based on court rulings