First publication in Haredim 10: Attorney Reuven Biton and Attorney Yaakov Biton filed a request with the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court to approve a class action lawsuit against the Independent Education Network.
This is the third class action lawsuit filed this year against 'Independent Education', an association that manages a network of schools for the ultra-Orthodox community and operates over 250 schools across the country.
The reason this time: "The respondent's employees who were at the educational institution owned by the respondent during the morning prayer and did not receive pay.".
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The plaintiff who filed the class action lawsuit is employed as a teacher at an independent school in the city of Beit Shemesh. This is what the lawyers write about him: "The plaintiff is an ultra-Orthodox person, an employee of the respondent, who is distraught by the respondent's conduct, and seeks, through this class action lawsuit, to correct the respondent's ways, in a way that will bring about a significant change once and for all in the salaries of the members of the group.".
The lawsuit states:
""The applicant has been employed by the respondent since September 1, 2020, and until February 2021 he worked an hourly schedule of 11 hours per week, and starting in March 2021, the applicant worked an hourly schedule of 24 hours per week.
""As is customary in the religious and ultra-Orthodox sector, the school day begins with the morning prayer, at which time teachers are required to report to school and supervise the students' prayer.
""There is no room here to elaborate on the importance of morning prayer in Haredi schools, but this can be learned from a certificate of appreciation that all students in Haredi schools receive, including the schools operated by the respondent, in which the student receives an assessment of the quality of the prayer and arrival on time - and it is clear to all that this assessment requires the presence of the teacher during prayer time. The teacher's supervision of the prayer time in the classroom is an integral part of his duty as a teacher in a Haredi school.
""The applicant is required to report to school alternately and be with his students during the morning prayer. However, the applicant did not receive pay during the morning prayer time when the school hours begin at 9:15 a.m., after the students in the class have finished their prayer.".
""For example, and for the sake of illustration, from the relevant schedule starting in Adar 5771 as published to the teaching staff at the school where the applicant works, it appears that the applicant begins his work day at the respondent at 9.15 a.m., at which time the first lesson at the school begins.
""However, although this does not appear in the school timetable, the applicant was required to report to supervise his students during the morning prayer as early as 8:30. For this teaching hour - 45 minutes, he did not receive pay.".
The lawyers note that "the applicant's pay slips during this period, which coincides with the hours, indicate that the applicant worked 24 hours a week for the respondent, however, as stated, his working hours are concentrated between 9:15 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., while it is not disputed that the morning prayer time is at 8:30 a.m.
""It is clear that the applicant's conduct in other schools operated by the respondent is similar, in which all of the respondent's teachers report to work during morning prayer, but do not receive pay for this time.".
According to Biton Attorneys, "The applicant contacted the respondent several times and wondered why he was not being paid for his attendance at the Shacharit prayer time in the morning, and the respondent's employees' response was that he was not entitled to payment for this time, since in any case his duty as a Jewish person is to pray every morning.".
However, the plaintiff claims that "he prays every morning at sunrise in the synagogue where he usually prays, according to the formula in which he is accustomed to praying; because while praying, the applicant is focused on his prayer and is not available for parallel tasks such as supervising students, etc.
""Either way," the lawyers argue, "the respondent is not entitled to oblige the applicant to hold his prayers at school without pay (in a footnote it should be noted that theoretically the applicant or other members of the group may choose not to pray at all, and this is none of the respondent's business).".
The attorneys add: "Many of the schools operated by the respondent are girls' schools, and the applicant's investigation shows that even there, the school teachers do not receive pay for the morning prayer time, even though the obligation to pray is not imposed on the teachers.".
An examination conducted by the prosecutor in the state-religious schools revealed that although prayers are held at the school in which the teachers are present, they receive full pay for being at the school during the prayer time.
A further examination conducted by the prosecutor revealed that even in the institution that exactly corresponds to independent education - the Shas Maayan Torah Education Network - Bnei Yosef, which also operates schools for the ultra-Orthodox public, teachers receive pay for the Shacharit prayer time in the morning.
The lawyers write: "The applicant will argue that, in light of the normative framework described below, he is entitled to payment for the prayer time he attended at school, in accordance with his salary grade, and accordingly, the members of the group are entitled to payment for the prayer time they attended at school, in accordance with their salary grade.
""According to the salary calculation he made, he is entitled to additional wages for the 38 hours of work in which he attended prayer with the students, for a total of 2,186.52 shekels.".
The lawyers emphasize that the independent education network "is grossly violating the provisions of the Working Hours and Rest Law by not paying its employees wages for the Shacharit prayer time in the morning, and thus the respondent violated a statutory obligation.".
They further note that "given the fact that these are institutions budgeted by the state... it is indisputable that the respondent received a budget from the state for the morning prayer hour, just as the Maayan Torah Education Center chain and the state religious schools receive a budget for the morning prayer hours. Despite this, the respondent does not pay its employees their wages for their presence during the morning prayer time, but it is clear that the respondent's goal was one, and that was to easily enrich itself at the expense of its employees.".
The attorneys request that the court order the Independent Education to disclose the following documents: a complete list of employees who worked as teachers in the schools owned by the respondent (including those who were fired); class diaries and time sheets of the respondent's employees for the seven years preceding the filing of this petition; a breakdown of the salaries and salary components of all of its employees for the seven years preceding the filing of this petition; the scope of the positions of all employees; the hourly wage of each employee who worked for the respondent in the past seven years;
The lawyers: "The relief sought in this lawsuit is payment of wages for the morning prayer time in the amount of 2,186.52 shekels to the applicant; in addition, the members of the group are entitled to financial relief, each according to the scope of their position and case.
""At this stage, the applicant does not have factual data to calculate the financial relief for the entire group, but this calculation - which is not overly complex - will be made after receiving the documents requested as part of the document disclosure.".
In addition, "the Honorable Court will be asked to declare in its ruling that the Respondent must pay its employees wages for the morning prayer time; compensation to the Applicant and fees for those who are unable to attend.".
The lawyers also request that "in determining the compensation and fees, the court be asked to take into account the great image risk taken by the applicant and his attorneys, as they are part of the Haredi community in Israel and live in a Haredi settlement, with all that this implies.".
According to them, "The applicant still works for the respondent and the honorable court will be asked to also consider the risk that the applicant took on while he was able and that the respondent or one of its employees would harass him during his employment.".
The lawyers state in the request to approve a class action lawsuit that "the concept behind the class action lawsuit process is that, in light of the costs and hassle involved in conducting a lawsuit against an institutionalized body such as the respondent, in relation to the amount of the claim of each and every member of the group, and in light of the fact that we are dealing with employees who all belong to the Haredi public that rarely goes to court, and thus the fear will arise that a sinner will be rewarded. In this case, the appropriate procedure is the class action procedure.".
They add: "It is clear that the more we deal with a weak and closed group, the more dramatically the chance that each member of the group will turn to the courts in order to exercise their rights under the law will decrease. Moreover, in our case, there is the inherent fear of each member of the group lest he be swallowed up by something and face the respondent in legal proceedings.".
