Court: Municipality Liable for Harassment Even Without Direct Employment Relationship

The National Labor Court ruled that a municipality bears responsibility for the sexual harassment of a municipal corporation employee by a senior official, even without direct employer-employee relations. The municipality will pay compensation of 50,000 shekels, in addition to the 600,000 shekels the harasser must pay. The court determined that the municipality failed to prove it took reasonable preventive measures during 2012–2015.

The National Labor Court ruled that a municipality bears responsibility for the sexual harassment of a municipal corporation employee by a senior official, even without direct employer-employee relations. In a ruling given in May and permitted for publication, it was determined that relations of authority existed even without direct subordination. The municipality will pay the employee compensation of 50,000 shekels, in addition to the 600,000 shekels the harasser is required to pay. The harasser, who served as a department head in the municipality and as a director in the municipal corporation since 1975, helped the employee, born in 1972, get hired as a cleaning worker in 2012, allegedly in exchange for sexual relations. The employee claimed the relationship lasted about three years, with a frequency of about twice a month, while the manager emphasized that he was protecting her. The manager claimed the relationship began at her initiative about six months before she was hired. The regional court accepted the employee's version and ruled that it was sexual harassment exploiting authority relations, but dismissed her claim against the municipality due to lack of direct employer-employee relations. The National Labor Court reversed this decision, ruling that employer obligations to prevent sexual harassment also apply to those whose employees might harass within the framework of work relations. The municipality failed to prove it took reasonable preventive measures during 2012–2015, as the law supervisor it presented was only appointed in 2021, and no evidence from the relevant period was presented. The court dismissed the manager's appeal and ruled that it was harassment of the 'this for that' type, even if the employee initiated the relationship. Legal expenses were awarded: 7,500 shekels from the municipality and 25,000 shekels from the harasser.