Background
Employment is a central factor in every person's life, not merely as a source of income, but also as a means for personal expression. For individuals with disabilities, it also serves as an expression of the normalization of their lives.
Unfortunately, as a result of many years of discrimination, unemployment among people with disabilities has reached exceptionally high levels, even in comparison to the depressed job market conditions in Israel today. According to the legislative committee report submitted in preparation for the drafting of the Equal Rights Law, 75% of individuals in Israel with severe physical or mental disabilities are unemployed. Unemployment affects 72% of the blind population as well as over 20% of the deaf population in Israel.
Equal Rights Law - Employment
In light of the difficult conditions for the disabled in employment - including high unemployment rates, low wages, and segregated 'protected occupational' frameworks that seldom prepare workers for integration into the free job market - the employment article of the Equal Rights Law for People with Disabilities takes on paramount importance. This article, which came into effect in January 1999, establishes the following:
- Prohibition against discrimination: The Equal Rights Law prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the workplace, whether in hiring, setting salaries, professional advancement, or firing, so long as the individual is qualified for the position.
- Obligation of employer to modify the workplace: The nondiscrimination clause includes the obligation of the employer to modify the workplace to accommodate a qualified applicant with special needs, such that the disabled worker can carry out his job. These modifications include, but are not limited to: addition of ramp access for wheelchair bound employees; added time on job acceptance exams for learning-disabled applicants; flexible work-hours for those workers who need to undergo treatments related to their disability (or the disability of their child), etc. The non-fulfillment of these conditions constitutes prohibited discrimination.So that the full financial burden of performing these modifications does not fall solely on the employer, the law establishes that the Minister of Labor and Welfare and the Minister of the Treasury must create regulations establishing the state's participation in renovation expenses incurred by the employer. Although the regulations were, in fact, established by the Labor, Welfare, and Health Committee of the Knesset in November 2001, the Minister of the Treasury refused to sign his approval and thus put them into effect. Bizchut is actively working with government ministers to ensure that the regulations will be signed and instituted as soon as possible.
- Parking access in the workplace: The Equal Rights Law states that people with disabilities must be given priority in parking at the workplace. The Knesset approved regulations that obligate the employer to provide exclusive accessible parking spots for employees with limited mobility.
- Fair representation: The law adds that in workplaces of 25 or more people, there is an obligation by employers to act for the advancement of hiring qualified individuals with disabilities.
- Employment and rehabilitation projects: The law also obligates the Minister of Labor and Welfare to initiate and develop employment and rehabilitation projects that promote integration of disabled individuals into the workplace.
- Sanctions: An employee or candidate for employment, who was discriminated against on the basis of his/her disability, has the right to sue the employer in employment court. The court has the authority to order monetary compensation of workers, to order the hiring of persons, to order the employer to make necessary modifications to the workplace, and to order that the employer rehire individuals who were fired illegally.
Information page: Guide for Employees
Guide to the Equal Rights Law
Minimum Wage for Employees with Disabilities
The question of pay levels for disabled employees as compared with non-disabled employees poses a serious problem. Many employers are unwilling to pay disabled workers - some of whom are considerably less productive than other workers - the minimum wage established by law. As a result, some individuals cannot find work. Others are accepted into the workforce as unofficially hired workers, with results infringing their social rights (e.g. breach of salary agreements, docking of vacation time, etc.)
Special minimum wage regulations (with the minimum wage adjusted for a disabled worker with reduced productivity) were created in order to alleviate these problems. Under these regulations, the Director of the Ministry of Labor and Welfare has been given the authority to set an alternative minimum wage, lower than that established by law, for disabled workers. Level of productivity is determined only by consultation with experts; lower minimum wage is permitted only to employees whose productivity has been shown to be significantly lower than their able-bodied co-workers. Adjusted pay is scaled to 33%, 50% or 75% of minimum wage relative to the individual's productivity level and abilities (currently, full minimum wage is set at approximately 3,200 NIS per month).
It should be emphasized that only the worker, and not the employer, is eligible to apply to the Ministry Director to request a salary adjustment. Additionally, the worker is eligible to appeal to employment court if, in his opinion, the decision of the Director injures his rights.
Assisted Occupational Frameworks
Individuals living with certain disabilities require sheltered occupational frameworks. Upon reaching the age of 21, such individuals transition from the provisional authority of the education system to the employment and welfare system, provided that they meet the requirements of the Ministry of Labor and Welfare and are granted 'coverage.' A limited number of people are granted coverage each year, and because of a lack of coverage many people wait for protracted periods without being enrolled in any occupational framework whatsoever.
The 'maintenance allowances' that are distributed within such frameworks are based upon the extent of the disability, varying from several hundred NIS up to two thousand NIS per month. The local municipality pays 25% of the allowance with the remaining 75% paid by the Ministry of Labor and Welfare. Several different occupational frameworks exist in order to meet the various special needs of particular individuals. Below is a partial list of some of the occupational frameworks:
- Day Centers - A full therapeutic framework, in which the individual receives medical treatment. Those with severe disabilities are referred to Day Centers where a relatively small percentage of the day is spent working.
- Hama'as - A sheltered work program, where disabled individuals work semi-independently. The work projects demand some degree of initiative from the workers, but generally consist of simple and repetitive type tasks. Pay in such frameworks is symbolic and amounts to less than one hundred NIS per month.
- Supported Work Program - supported employment within the free market, intended for individuals graduating from Hama'as programs. The participants are not considered the employees of the workplace, rather employees of the protected occupational framework. They receive a salary of several hundred NIS per month, and are not entitled to social benefits.
Law for the Rehabilitation in the Community of People with Mental Illness, 2000
According to this law, a person who is determined to have at least a 40% disability due to mental illness is eligible to apply to his/her local rehabilitation council and request enrollment in a rehabilitation program. Rehabilitation programs are tailored for the individual and may include, among other components, a program for gaining employment. This includes: diagnostic and training services, assistance in integrating into the workforce (whether as a freelancer or salaried employee), referrals to an assisted work program, etc.
Information page: Law for the Rehabilitation in the Community of People with Mental Illness, 2000
Equality within the Workplace - Legal Perspectives
Recently, several different cases have made their way into the courts, and the court has had to decide whether individuals were discriminated against on the basis of their disability:
- The Regional Employment Court in Jerusalem ruled that the obligation to promote fair representation of disabled persons in the workplace applies in firing as well as hiring. Therefore, when an employer is dismissing workers due to downsizing, he must view a worker's disability positively (B.Sh.A. 2968/01.)
- The case of a social worker who worked 6 years for the municipality, and then was transferred to a different position because of a hearing impairment. Bizchut, in conjunction with the Bekol organization, petitioned the employment court on behalf of the worker. As a result, a signed agreement was reached in which the municipality agreed to reassign the worker to her original position, and to provide her with the necessary workplace modifications for her to carry out her job. These modifications included simultaneous translation during large participatory meetings and assistance in answering the phones.
- The case of the lawyer, who worked as a prosecutor in the police's legal department, and was fired because of a minor physical disability that made it difficult for him to carry a briefcase, stand up before the court, etc. Bizchut signed on to his petition, charging that his dismissal violated the Equal Rights Law for People with Disabilities. The lawyer was recently reinstated to his position.
- The case of a man with a slight physical disability who has been a municipality employee for the last 14 years but hasn't received tenure. His contract, which was renewed annually, explicitly stated that he is ineligible for tenure due to his disability. Bizchut and the worker have filed a petition with the employment court.
- The case of a school custodian with a minor physical disability who was fired on the basis of his disability. A suit against his employer was filed in court, and following mediation between the two parties, the man was returned to his position.
