IsraelEqual Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law, 5758-1998, accessibility of public services, accessibility orders and administrative sanctions
Accessibility of public services under the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law 5758-1998, ss. 19J-19N, 19MB, 19MC, 19MH, 19NA and Chapter 9 (Hebrew sections 19י-19יד, 19מב, 19מג, 19מח, 19נא and 26ז-26יא)
In force.
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
As of .
What it requires
- If you are responsible for providing a public service, make it accessible to people with disabilities by making the accessibility adjustments the regulations under section 19יב require (section 19יא(א) and (ב)).
- If an exemption applies to a specific adjustment because it would impose an undue burden, or on another ground listed in section 19יג, carry out the alternative accessibility adjustments that are reasonable in the circumstances (section 19יד).
- If you are responsible for providing a public service and employ at least 25 employees, appoint from among your employees an accessibility coordinator who is as familiar as possible with accessibility for people with disabilities and, as far as possible, a person with a disability (section 19מב(א)).
- Carry out the actions an accessibility order from the Commissioner lists, in the time the order sets (section 19מג(א) and section 19מח(ג)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
Breaching an accessibility order is an offence punishable by the fine in section 61(a)(3) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, plus a further fine of 5% of that fine for each day the offence continues beyond the period the order sets, and a corporation is liable to twice that fine (section 19מח(ג) and (ד)).
Statutory damages
For a breach of a provision made under section 19יב the court may award compensation without proof of damage in an amount that does not exceed NIS 50,000 (section 19נא(ב)(2)), unless the defendant proves one of the conditions in section 19נא(ג).
- As of
- Currency
- ILS
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities: a supervisor from among its senior employees whom the Commissioner authorizes imposes the administrative sanctions
What this law does
Section 19יא requires a public service to be accessible to people with disabilities, in accordance with the Law's provisions. Section 19יא also requires the person responsible for providing a public service to make the accessibility adjustments the Law requires. Section 19יב has the Minister of Justice set, by regulations, the accessibility adjustments a public service must make so that a person with a disability has reasonable accessibility.
Where the regulations set no gradual application, the accessibility duty applies in full no later than for a person that is not a public authority. A person bound is exempt from a specific adjustment in an existing public place or a public service where it imposes an undue burden, judged by factors that include the revenue turnover or profit rate of the person responsible.
The undue burden exemption does not apply to a public service provided by a public authority, or to an adjustment about which the person bound acted in bad faith. A person who shows that an exemption applies must carry out alternative accessibility adjustments that are reasonable in the circumstances. The Commissioner, or an authorized supervisor, may order a person bound to take the actions the order lists to make the adjustments.
A person who breaches an accessibility order is liable to the fine in section 61(a)(3) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, and a further fine for each day the offence continues beyond the period the order sets. The supervisor may impose a monetary sanction on a person who breaches an accessibility duty listed in the Eighth Schedule. A continuing breach adds one fiftieth of the sanction for each month the breach continues. A repeat breach adds an amount equal to the sanction.
A tiny obligor is one, other than a public authority, whose annual transaction turnover in the year before the breach did not exceed NIS 2 million, and a small obligor is one whose turnover in that year exceeded NIS 2 million and did not exceed NIS 20 million. The chapter on administrative enforcement began to apply on . For four years from then a first breach of a particular duty by a tiny or small obligor draws an administrative warning in place of the sanction.
A person responsible for a public service who employs at least 25 employees must appoint an accessibility coordinator from among them, as far as possible a person with a disability. An act or omission contrary to a provision of Chapter E1, Chapter E or the accessibility provisions of the Planning and Building Law is a civil tort. For a breach of a provision made under section 19יב the court may award compensation of up to NIS 50,000 without proof of damage.
The court may not award that compensation if the defendant proves one of the conditions the section lists, such as compliance with an accessibility order.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface.