A construction company was acquitted of a criminal charge for violating a safety order at a construction site
Sep 11, 2023
By: Attorney Eldan Danino
About two weeks ago, the Regional Labor Court in Be'er Sheva acquitted a construction company and its management of the offense of violating a safety order, after determining that the Ministry of Labor inspector who issued the order for the company's obligation was not the head of the company to do so. During 2022, the Claims Unit in the Legal Department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs filed a criminal indictment against an entrepreneurial construction company and against its shareholder on its behalf, among other things, for the offense of violating a safety order at a construction site it owned in Ashdod, following his visit to the construction site in 2021.
During the trial conducted by Attorney Eldan Danino, an expert in safety and occupational accidents in the construction and infrastructure industry, it was proven that the labor inspector who imposed the safety order against the company did not have the legal authority at all to impose that order, with all that this implies.
By: Attorney Eldan Danino
About two weeks ago, the Regional Labor Court in Be'er Sheva acquitted a construction company and its management of violating a safety order, after determining that the Labor Ministry inspector who issued the order to the company was not responsible for doing so.
During 2022, the Claims Unit in the Legal Department of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs filed a criminal indictment against an entrepreneurial construction company and against the shareholder on its behalf, among other things, for the offense of violating a safety order at a construction site it owned in Ashdod, following its visit to the construction site in 2021.
During the trial conducted by Attorney Eldan Danino, an expert in safety and occupational accidents in the construction and infrastructure industry, it was proven that the labor inspector who imposed the safety order against the company did not have the legal authority at all to impose that order, with all that this implies.
clarification
The President of the Beersheba Regional Labor Court, the Honorable President Zvi Frankel, clarified that the Labor Supervision Organization Law authorizes the Chief Labor Inspector and the regional inspectors to issue safety orders. Therefore, the issuance of safety orders by other safety inspectors requires, according to the language of the law, written authorization from the Chief Labor Inspector – and such written authorization was not in the hands of the inspector who issued the safety order in this case.
"The fact that this conduct has taken root in the field among various inspectors does not justify the act. The safety order can only be issued by someone who is legally authorized to do so," Judge Frankel ruled, clarifying that the state's failure to prove that the inspector was legally authorized to issue orders made the order he issued null and void, and therefore, as stated, acquitted the company of the offense with which it was charged.
The President of the Beersheba Regional Labor Court, the Honorable President Zvi Frankel, clarified that the Labor Supervision Organization Law authorizes the Chief Labor Inspector and the regional inspectors to issue safety orders. Therefore, the issuance of safety orders by other safety inspectors requires, according to the language of the law, written authorization from the Chief Labor Inspector – and such written authorization was not in the hands of the inspector who issued the safety order in this case.
"The fact that this conduct has taken root in the field among various inspectors does not justify the act. The safety order can only be issued by someone who is legally authorized to do so," Judge Frankel ruled, clarifying that the state's failure to prove that the inspector was legally authorized to issue orders made the order he issued null and void, and therefore, as stated, acquitted the company of the offense with which it was charged.
This determination by the court may have wide-ranging implications, since according to the statements of representatives of the Ministry of Labor in the evidentiary hearings held in the court, issuing orders by "regular" safety inspectors, i.e., those who are not qualified as required by law, is the norm in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is responsible for enforcing safety laws in the workplace.
The determination that the currently accepted method of certification of inspectors does not give them the authority to impose safety orders may lead to a wave of appeals and legal proceedings from contractors who will also claim that the safety orders imposed on them were imposed without authority.
The meaning of the statement
Due to the fact that we are dealing with a decision that is, as stated, a broad decision that has the potential to affect the construction industry in Israel, since dozens and even hundreds of contractors are required to comply with safety orders day and night, and it is not certain that these are indeed issued with authority and in accordance with the law.
This is the place to emphasize that these safety orders, which are a duty of the contractor community, even subject the contractors to criminal prosecution, as happened in this case, and even to hearings before the Registrar of Contractors, to the point of cancellation and suspension of their contractor's license.
Impact on the Construction Industry
Therefore,
These days, Attorney Eldan Danino is examining the lateral implications of the ruling issued by the court, and while he and his office team are preparing the ground for a variety of legal claims, which may lead to the cancellation of the orders that were unlawfully imposed on the contracting and entrepreneurial companies over the past few years, and which have even resulted in harm to them, such as: closing construction sites, criminal prosecution, filing for hearing procedures at the Contractors Registry, etc.
These days, Attorney Eldan Danino is examining the lateral implications of the ruling issued by the court, and while he and his office team are preparing the ground for a variety of legal claims, which may lead to the cancellation of the orders that were unlawfully imposed on the contracting and entrepreneurial companies over the past few years, and which have even resulted in harm to them, such as: closing construction sites, criminal prosecution, filing for hearing procedures at the Contractors Registry, etc.
מסמכים
