McDonald's: Deducts money from wages unfairly
Photo Michael Kramer
McDonald's backs off
Fast-food franchisee cancels policy that called for branch employees to make up difference from their own pockets if registers are short
McDonald's Israel has canceled a policy requiring employees to reimburse the company for money missing from registers.
Moreover, the company said employees would not be responsible for counterfeit bills.
“There is no requirement that workers pay for bills that are found to be counterfeit,” McDonalds told Ynet in a statement. “We will notify all employees and managers.”
Workers had said franchisee Aloniel Co. had told employees they would have to make up the difference from their own pockets if their registers were short on money.
Kav La'Oved, a non-profit organization that protects workers, said this is an illegal practice.
"I know of workers who got fined because their register was short, and only found out about it when the amount was taken off their paycheck," one employee said.
An employee of a different branch said the company deducts wages from the workers if fake bills are found in their registers.
"Am I a banker?" the worker asked. "Do I even have a way of knowing if I have a fake bill in my register?"
McDonald's refused to comment.
Rachely Yudelevich, an attorney for Kav La'Oved, said that if these claims are true, McDonald's is breaking the Law of Wages Protection.
'Claim money and get it back'
According to Yudelevich, if the employer thinks the employee owes him money, he must go to court and present evidence proving the worker is directly responsible. It is almost impossible to prove such a claim, though, which is why some employers take advantage of the fact they control the money and resort to deducting wages arbitrarily.
Yudelevich said that in such cases, if the workers earn more than minimum wage, they can turn to the Labor Court and open a civil proceeding, where they may present their argument and get the money back. If the workers earn less than minimum wage, the company is breaking the law and the workers can act accordingly.
"If the employer can actually prove that the worker took the money, and it is very rare, it means the worker broke the law, and it is very obvious what the employer has to do" Yudelevich said. "If he feels the worker is negligent, he does not have to keep employing him. However, he can never deduct the money from his paycheck."
