The services provided by the local authorities to people with disabilities/the State Comptroller's Office
The Commission for Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities in the Ministry of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the Sheba Hospital and the Ministry of Health at the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court (Bat Yam) - this was learned today (Tuesday) by Walla!.
The lawsuit was filed on the grounds that the hospital discriminated against a woman in the hiring process due to her disability.
The lawsuit, for NIS 70,000, was filed in the name of Ricky Foxman, 29 years old from Bnei Brak, graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Bar Ilan University and has a teaching certificate, lives with cerebral palsy and uses an electric wheelchair.
The letter of claim indicates that Foxman submitted a resume, as a general rule of graduates, for a position as a therapeutic instructor in the day care unit of the eating disorders unit at Sheba Hospital.
She was required to choose the track in which she is interested - this according to various constraints.
Foxman, who observes Shabbat, chose the daycare option, which requires working Sunday-Thursday.
Ricky Foxman/Courtesy of the Photographers
On the same day, it appears, Foxman replied and asked to make sure that the workplace is indeed accessible to people with disabilities.
However, in Sheba, who delayed their answer, they replied that they apologize for the long response time, and clarified that they had checked whether the workplace could be made accessible to a person in a wheelchair and make room for him - but unfortunately they do not have a positive answer on the matter.
"Due to the hospital's space constraints, it will not be so comfortable," they wrote in an email.
Foxman insisted and asked the hospital if, following their answer, there was no reason for her to come to a job interview - and in response she replied that if she wanted to work night shifts and weekends, an interview could be scheduled for her. This is despite the fact that they know, as she previously stated, that the position is not relevant for her due to keeping the Sabbath and nights.
"I felt humiliated and disrespected, feelings of anger passed through me and at the same time enormous pain with the hospital's answer," Foxman told Walla! After contacting the Commission for Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities, Foxman discovered that the workplace must be accessible, therefore, she returned to Shiba and insisted on a position Today, however, at the hospital they replied that because she did not answer the email, the interview could not be held, they repeated their answer that the place could not be accessed and in any case, in the meantime the standards were filled in the hospitalization department.
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In an attempt to reach a compromise, a lawyer from the Commission and Dr. Adi Hanoch Levy, director of the eating disorders department at the hospital, held a telephone conversation. In the conversation, Dr. Levy repeated the claim that the room was not accessible and even added a new claim.
According to her, the role that Foxman tried to qualify for requires escorting patients to various treatments, this escorting sometimes involves chasing after patients and therefore, due to her disability - they insist that Foxman is not suitable.
"The thing that hurts the most for me is that I did an internship in the third year at Sheba Hospital, I thought that maybe there I would open the way to the world of therapy, a place that I loved and I love very much, but that's where I got the brakes," Foxman was angry.
"They were beyond all criticism, their behavior is unthinkable, I will not give up and will go with this to the end so that everyone will understand that people with disabilities can work in many jobs and integrate into the Israeli economy."
Unfortunately for Foxman, this is not the first place that disqualifies her due to her disability.
"It's always done in a nice way and they invite me in for an interview and then they come up with some kind of excuse and in the end I'm not accepted. Here it was clear and smooth. Even seeing me they didn't see how opaque it is possible to be. We are in a state of war, there are thousands of wounded and disabled We are new in Israel, and if the state's hospitals put a stop to us, then what will the various businesses say? The doors are closing in my face one after the other, but I will not give up."
In the statement of claim to the court, the Commission for Equality of Rights for Persons with Disabilities stated that the Sheba Hospital does not meet the conditions of adequate representation for persons with disabilities, which requires at least 5% representation as of 2023 - the hospital meets the low threshold for employing workers with disabilities, with a figure of less than -3% representation.
We also noted that at Sheba this condition has not been met for 5 years in a row.
Also, the Ministry of Health does not meet the conditions and is at the medium level, with less than 5% representation.
Ministry of Health, Jerusalem/Flash 90, Nati Shohat
A short visit to a furniture store and a little good will would have been enough
"This is one of the most serious cases I have come across regarding discrimination in employment," said attorney Siglit Porat-Gorenstein, who is in charge of employment claims at the Equal Rights Commission for Persons with Disabilities. And here knocks on his door a brave girl with a disability, who stood tall, graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology and in general asked to work in a job that matches her skills, experience and education.
The hospital had to make the workplace accessible and make some basic adjustments.
A short visit to a furniture store and a little goodwill would probably have been enough."
"What message is being conveyed to the public by Sheba and the Ministry of Health?
That a person with a disability cannot be hired because he or she is in a wheelchair?
And what if it was a soldier who was wounded in the war?
The fact that it is a state as an employer, emphasizes the importance and sensitivity of the aforementioned case," added Porat-Gorenstein.
Commissioner for Equality of Rights for People with Disabilities, Dan Rashel, said: "Employment of people with disabilities is an extremely important issue and a key tool on the way to full integration in society and the economy of the population of people with disabilities. Beyond that, it is also a legal obligation - one must act to fulfill it, and not only Admit that she is right. It is our intention, at the Commission for Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities in the Ministry of Justice, to continue acting in accordance with our authority in order to enforce the Law on Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities, also on this issue."
Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital, May 2015/Reuven Castro
Sheba Hospital's response
The Sheba Medical Center stated: "By our very nature, we encourage the integration of people with disabilities in the labor market in general and in the Sheba Medical Center in particular. As part of this concept, the Sheba Medical Center employs workers with disabilities. In order to expand this employment model, we are running a unique project that combines young people with disability in a wide variety of roles".
"In order for the combination to be optimal and correct in the long term, both for the candidate and for the organization, we offer the appropriate positions in accordance with the candidate's education, experience and skills. This was also the case in this case," they added.
There was no response from the Ministry of Health.
More on the same topic:
Sheba Hospital
discrimination
Department of Justice