Lesson # 270 (part three) •Labor Law

Wages Rise or Fall in the Community
The employer hires employees to work for him as watchmen for $5 an hour, which is the standard community wage for such a job. The average wages paid to watchmen in the community fall to $4 an hour. The employer appears before his employees looking upset and the employees assuage the employer's feelings with words, but nothing is mentioned about a cut in wages. The employer must pay the employees the agreed-upon wage of $5 an hour. Similarly if the average wages paid to watchmen in the community rise to $6 and the watchmen appear upset and the employer assuages the employees with words, he need not pay them more than the $5 an hour agreed upon at the outset.

However, if there are conversations held regarding the new average wages, whether higher or lower, and the one party tells the other party to continue working or they would continue to work, it is taken as an indication that the other party agreed to the change in the wage, although not specifically expressed.

The average wage for watchmen when the employer hires the employee is $5 an hour, but they agree that the employee will receive $4 an hour. The wages for watchmen in the community fall to $4 an hour. The employer demands that the employee take a proportionate cut in wages. His plea is dismissed by Beth Din. Similarly if the average wage rises to $6 an hour, and the employee demands that his wages be raised proportionately, his plea is dismissed. However, if the wages to be paid were linked to the average wage, such as the employee is to be paid $1 an hour more than the average wage, and the average wage rises or falls, then his wages rise or fall.

Early termination of employment
In the area of labor law, as in many other areas of the law, there are usually govern- mental laws and regulations, as well as local customs that will govern. Also there are many collective bargaining agreements between employers and unions and other large or small groupings of workers, or very often between an employer and just one or a few employees. Assuming these agreements do not contravene halacha, they will usually control the employer-employee relationship. There may, however, be employers who hire only a few employees who may not be governed by the laws of the land or by labor agreements that take in large groups of workers. Or they do not want to be governed by such laws and specifically want to be governed by halacha free of any laws or agreements. Not subject to any laws or formal agreements, the employer and the employee enter into an employment "understanding" for a day or for a longer period of time and one of the parties wishes to terminate the under- standing prior to its completion. In these lessons, I use the term agreement to mean a formal arrangement, usually entered into by a kinyan or other formal method, or any other method recognized by the govern- mental authorities, and understanding to indicate a less formal arrangement between the parties, usually oral, and not spelling out all of the terms and conditions. Most of the laws were first developed when there were few, if any, skilled workers.

Those who were skilled were generally independent contractors. Most of the workers were farm workers hired on a day-to-day basis to plow, plant, irrigate, or harvest crops. Most such workers were paid a trifle above the acceptable minimum wage; the minimum wage was what an unemployed worker, such as a watchman or delivery man, would accept if someone offered him work. Thus, very often the difference between the minimum wage and the agreed-upon wage was small, but this small amount very often also represented the difference between being able or not being able to buy food and clothing.

How long is the term of the understanding? May one side terminate the understanding without the approval of the other side, and if he does, what are the rights of the parties? Halacha sometimes makes distinctions as to when one side disappoints the other. The employee disappoints the employer when the employee resigns his position; the employer disappoints the employee when the employer fires the employee or otherwise terminates the employment sooner than expected. I have designated the party who reneges on his part of the understanding to be the "disappointing party" and the other person to be the “disappointed party."

Did the disappointment occur before the work was supposed to commence, before the worker showed up at the place of employment, or after the worker had commenced to perform? Will the other party bear an irreparable loss as a result of the disappointment by the other party? Many of the laws are reciprocal regarding one party disappointing the other by not fulfilling the understanding between them.

The laws of the land governing labor relations will usually govern, such as to minimum wages, hours to be worked, retirement and pensions, vacations, health care, seniority, other perks and any other matters known as labor relations.

There is a difference of opinion as to whether Halacha permits a person to enter into a formal agreement of employment, thereby implicitly waiving his rights under Torah law to leave his employment at any time. The accepted present view seems to be that an employee can enter into an employment agreement and it will be binding upon him. Such contracts or agreements are made binding by a kinyan being performed by the party who is to be bound, usually both the employee and employer. In the contracts between the employer and the employee, whether an individual or a large group in a geographic area, an industry, or certain types of workers or members of unions, the many other facets of labor relations will govern in addition to the laws of the land.

There are also times that the parties may bind themselves by an oath to carry out the terms of their understanding or by a handshake if that is a method recognized by the customs of the community to be the equivalent to an oath.

Coming next week: The Employee's Right to Terminate the Employment and more, on Early Termination of Employment

The subject matter of this lesson is more fully discussed in volume IX chapter 332-333 of A Restatement of Rabbinic Civil Law by E. Quint. Copies of all volumes can be purchased via email: orders@gefenpublishing.com and via website: www.israelbooks.com and at local Judaica bookstores. Questions to quint@inter.net.il

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