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1. Because I have some time over the Passover holiday, I want to address a point from a week ago with the proper attention it deserves. In other words...
It's time for another Twitter shiur!
Today's topic: Employer's Right / Employee's Obligations in Jewish Law
It's time for another Twitter shiur!
Today's topic: Employer's Right / Employee's Obligations in Jewish Law
2. The motivation for this thread comes from this case before Passover where a rabbi made the following declaration for his community in response to a worker's strike at a nearby market.
houstonchronicle.com/news/article/J…
houstonchronicle.com/news/article/J…
3. I do not know enough to comment on the merits of the strike, nor do I question the authority of the rabbi to pasken for his own community. But the categorical statement of breaking a strike violating Jewish law, let alone saying it is "well-established" is questionable
4. As when labor discussions of Judaism come up, sympathetic activists tend to cite from the myriad of sources in the Jewish tradition upholding the rights of workers, the implication being that in Judaism it is a *religious obligation* to support workers.
5. In my immediate response, I focused on the methodological problems regarding selective appeals to authority, of when certain people's opinions are representative of Judaism w/o question and when they may be disregarded.
6. I also said that Jewish labor laws are complicated and not conducive to Twitter. I stand by that statement, but today I want to elaborate on *how* labor laws are complicated.
7. Normally I give a disclaimer that these twitter shiurim are not comprehensive, and this goes double here. This is not an exhaustive treatment of Jewish labor laws either.
8. I accept a priori all the statements affirming worker's rights which is an undeniable requirement in Jewish law. But I am intentionally focusing on the flip side of the equation because that tends to get less attention even though they are no less important.
9. In other words, when considering how Jewish law views the employee/employer relationship, consider these sources not as a "yes, but" but rather, "yes, and."
Many sources are from my previous class on the subject here:
joshyuter.com/2011/03/07/cul…
Many sources are from my previous class on the subject here:
joshyuter.com/2011/03/07/cul…
10. While it should be obvious, the key responsibility of any employee is to complete the work.
11. What is not as obvious is the requirement for workers to maximize their efficiency and productivity. To this end we even find Rabbinic Sages adjusting religious requirements so that employees not take time away from their employers.
12. The Tosefta even prohibits taking a night job because doing so is considered stealing from an employer.
13. Maimonides even equates the prohibition of an employer withholding wages with the theft an employee does by idling while on the clock.
14. The prohibition mentioned by Maimonides regarding withholding wages is so severe the Talmud says doing so violates 5 prohibitions (including theft) and one positive commandment.
15. However, this rule is not without its qualifications, since this rule isn't violated if the employer doesn't have the money or transfers the obligation to someone else.
16. Furthermore, the normal rules of who has to take an oath in the event of a disputed debt is reversed in the employer/employee relationship. Here is Maimonides' summary of rules found on B. Shevuot 44b-47
17. Regarding the value of wages themselves, a city is within its rights to fix the cost of labor and penalize those who violate it.
18. However, note Rava's statement in the context of committing to a lower wage as a tradeoff for guaranteed work in the future.
19. To my knowledge, the Talmud makes no mention of a fixed minimum wage since the value of wages were determined by the labor. The lowest I could find is in the context of paying lost wages upon injury, with the lowest paying job being a vegetable watchman
20. Now let's say a labor arrangement was made and someone wants to change the terms. Jewish law doesn't *always* side with labor and is explicitly antagonistic towards extortionist practices.
21. Regarding job security, in certain professions, one may be dismissed without warning, notably any time the employee caused an irrevocable loss.
22. On the other hand, a laborer has a right to quit and collect wages owed for the work completed.
The ability to quit one's job is a distinguishing characteristic between a slave and someone who is free, the hyperbole of "wage slaves" notwithstanding.
The ability to quit one's job is a distinguishing characteristic between a slave and someone who is free, the hyperbole of "wage slaves" notwithstanding.
23. There's still much more I could quote, but I will stop here for now. Before people complain about missing a source, my point is *exactly* that the rules are more complicated most people teach. These sources are supposed to *compliment* each other to get the full picture
24. I will say that in my opinion, Torah attempts to balance the legitimate needs of all parties. What those are in practice will have to be addressed on a case by case basis.
25. What this means it that Torah is neither simply "pro-labor" or "pro-employer" but "pro-justice."
Figuring out what that means requires years of intensive and intellectually honest study.
Figuring out what that means requires years of intensive and intellectually honest study.
