Long before discussions of labor law and corporate ethics emerged as topics for discussion in secular society, the Torah established a model for discussing the concepts of equity and fairness between employees and their employers, introducing employment principles regarding work agreement, fair wages, fair treatment, and the tenor of the overall relationship between employer and employee as topics of public debate. One such principle, for example, is found in this week's Torah portion, Ki Tetze: "You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fellow countryman or stranger in one of the communities of your land. You must pay him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets, for he is needy and urgently depends on it; else he will cry to God against you and you will incur guilt" (Deuteronomy 24:14-15).
The Mishnah BavaMetzia 9:2 explains that while the Torah's pronouncements are designed to create the fairest and most reasonable earning environment for day laborers, the requirements to pay on time may also refer to any previously agreed-upon pay period-be it daily, weekly, monthly, or at some other predetermined interval. Moreover, the justification for this substantial liberalization of biblical law derives directly from the reason the Torah itself gives regarding its own strictness with respect to the treatment of day laborer. The Torah specifically explains that one should presume that day laborers live hand-to-mouth and are thus totally reliant on the wages they earn daily to cover their most immediate expenses, even the purchase of food for their families. Because we understand that, without their daily wages, such workers and their families will be unable even to eat, we must exert ourselves maximally to provide them with the money they have already earned.
Practically speaking, it is mandated that, regardless of the specific pay period agreed upon at the time of employment, employers have an obligation to pay the wages of their employees at the appropriate time without undue delay. An employer who purposefully withholds payment, according to Maimonides (at MT Hilkhot Sekhirut 11:2), is classified as an osheik (an extortionist) and may be considered to be breaking as many as five different biblical commandments concurrently.
All this makes total sense when we consider the worker who is "poor" and whose wages really are needed in the moment for food, but does this mean it would not apply to a case where the employee fails to demonstrate financial need or when it is known that the employee has other means of livelihood and is not poor? Should workers have to demonstrate financial need to insure their on-time payment? In other words, if the halakhah finds the wherewithal to permit the relaxation of the Torah's daily payment schedule if the employee does not demand it, then why should it be so wrong to delay payment in cases where employees do not urgently need their daily (or weekly, or monthly) wages to buy food for their families?
This exact question is asked in the Talmud at BT Bava Metzia 112a: "Why does a worker ascend upon a ladder, suspend himself from a tree, and place himself at risk, if not for his wage?...One who withholds the pay of a worker, it is as if he has taken his spirit from him." In other words, the timely payment of wages, therefore, is about more than just financial neediness and it is a feeling that is universal to all who are part of productive work in our society. It is also about the worker's commitment to his or her job; it is about his or her spirit, his or her sense of self-worth and purpose. And, it is about his or her morale and feelings towards the job.
Each of us has a universal right to feel the meaning of our work and to experience it in ways that help us mark our own contributions. Without it, we are all poor and just as the wages cannot be stolen from us, neither can that be! May we in our world continue to find ways to hold ourselves accountable for regular payment of these wages making us richer, more fulfilled, and more motivated to keep working!
Shabbat Shalom.