Employers can require staff members to either be vaccinated or perform a coronavirus test to come to work, even against their will, the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court decided this week.
The decision came in response to a petition filed by an employee of the Mekorot national water company against his employer. Mekorot had said unvaccinated workers or those who did not present a negative test could not come to work.
The court urged the plaintiff not to continue with his case. Mekorot’s request to require employees to either vaccinate or present two negative coronavirus tests a week was a measured policy in light of the growing rate of COVID-19 infections, the judges said.
In a letter from his lawyer to Mekorot that was shown to The Jerusalem Post, the employee agreed to take the two tests per week against his will, but he reserved the right to sue the company later.
Attorney Michal Harel Stein represented Mekorot in the case.
Of Mekorot’s 1,500 employees, only 30 are unvaccinated, of whom 50% cannot receive the jab for medical reasons, the company said.
Until now, the country paid for coronavirus tests. Now, with the new Green Pass regulations, it is likely that workers will have to pay for their own tests at a price of around NIS 52 each.
The ruling sets a precedent for other companies being able to force their staff to vaccinate or be tested against their will.
Mekorot is a government-owned company that operates under the Energy and Finance ministries. The decision could be applicable for government and private companies.
In the US, several large companies, including Facebook and Google, have required that workers be vaccinated to work in the office.