There are a
few sections in today’s parasha, Ki Teitze, which deal with the relationship
between employers and employees. We’re
going to take a look at a few of those sections: Deuteronomy 23:25-26, 24: 14- 15.
Torah
presumes that a day laborer lives hand to mouth and is therefore totally
reliant on daily wages to be able to eat.
According to Halacha, “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. Maimonides actually had a name for a person
who purposefully withholds payment to an individual. Such a person was called an osheik….an
extortionist.
Think about your own work
experiences. Were there ever times where
your employer was late in paying you?
What kind of hardship did that cause?
Let’s think
about another kind of scenario within the work scene. Presume there’s an individual who comes to
our community to perform a job, perhaps as a chazzan for the High Holidays and
that individual does not appear to have any financial needs. Should such a
person be treated the same as the day-laborer? Should we be able to permit
ourselves to put off paying that individual because he/she does not demand it
or because we know that individual is not poor?
This scenario could be applied to your electrician or plumber who comes
to your home to work but has a very good business established. What do you think your obligation is for
paying that individual as a day-laborer?
This
question was actually answered in the Talmud in 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
wages: One who withholds the pay of a
worker, it is as if he has taken his spirit from him. Timely payment, according to Rabbi Cheryl
Peretz, is the right of all employees.
Jewish law
even goes so far as saying that there needs to be some non-financial benefits
to which employees are entitled. What would
you do if you had an employee working in your grocery store and that individual
ate a grape without paying for it? Would
you fire that individual or figure that it was alright for him/her to act in
that manner?
The Torah
states clearly “that workers have the right to eat grapes or any other kind of
produce while working in the fields.
This perk comes in addition to whatever wage the employer has agreed
upon for the duration of the employee’s contract. “ This segment of Torah was
eventually commented upon by Rabbi Jacob ben Asher in the 14th
century. Accordingly it limits the
benefit only to the worker during work hours.
According to
Rabbi Jacob Ben Asher, it becomes the employee’s responsibility not to abuse
the right by causing work stoppage or overeating. Anyone doing those two things would be
considered a thief who was stealing from the employer.
The Halacha
mentioned for the fields, still applies today to the workers in agriculture and
the food industry. The Halacha however
does not insist that all employers have the obligation to feed their
employees. Instead, the Talmud states,
“Where it is the custom to provide food, the employer must do so.” So if you
were working for a company that gives its employees lunch and then it ceases to
do so, the custom of doing so, is supposed to override the desire of the
employer to terminate the benefit according to Halacha. Then of course, the question also arises
about work places that produce goods that are not food related. Is it an obligation of the employer to
provide the goods free of charge to the employee? What considerations would you take in mind to
answer this question?
I am
thinking about how these rules of the Torah still have an impact. When I’ve received a contract through a
Jewish speaker’s bureau for a performer, the paperwork always quotes the
statement, “the wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until the
morning.”
Jewish law
does not only deal with employer obligations.
Employee obligations are also a very big part of the halachic discussion. Wasting time or using one’s employment time
for other purposes is prohibited according to Jewish law. Employees are
expected to fulfill the responsibilities of their job requirements. Something that I did not know is that even
holding a second job if it interferes with one’s stamina to perform the primary
job is prohibited. The suggestion by the
Conservative movement is that “it is halachically advisable for employees who
are considering taking on additional work to consider carefully the time
commitment that may be involved and/or to consult with their primary employers
in advance to ensure that any additional employment will not impair their
pre-existing commitment. The original
comments in the Arba-ah Turim about Maimonides statements says: “One may not work elsewhere at night, and
then hire oneself out in the daytime, nor may one fast nor mortify one’s flesh,
because these practices will weaken one and render one unable to do the work of
the employer properly. In the same way
that an employer is not allowed to steal the wage of his employees nor delay
their payment, so too the worker is not allowed to idle time away, a little
here and a little there, until a whole day is spent fraudulently. After all, the sages freed the worker from
the obligation to recite the Grace after Meals in a formal company of
worshippers and also from the obligation to recite the fourth blessing of the
Grace. It is in this way that one is obligated to work with all of one’s
strength.
In this day
and age, theft in the work place still includes stealing time. That’s why there are rules from employers about
taking personal phone calls, surfing the internet, or making contacts with
Ashley Madison while at work! Fair
benefits, wages, and working conditions require positive actions on the part of
the employee who is then expected to fulfill the requirements of the job for
which he/she was hired, as long as that job is not demeaning or misusing the employer’s
power over the employee.
Perhaps sometime
later we’ll talk about sick leave, sexual harassment in the work place, a
living wage, and severance pay….none of which is discussed in this week’s
parasha.
Shabbat
Shalom.
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