Bava Metzia, Chapter 9, Mishnah 11. In this mishnah, we begin a completely new topic, even though we are still within the broad realm of monetary laws. In the coming series of mishnayos we will deal with the prohibition known as 'bal talin' - the prohibition against withholding a worker's wages overnight. In fact, there is both a positive commandment and a negative commandment here: to pay a time-based worker immediately at the end of his employment period, and our mishnah will discuss the exact parameters of this law.
The sources for this law:
"Beyomo titen secharo" - the positive commandment, to pay the worker on the day of his work.
"Velo savo alav hashemesh" (in the book of Devarim) - a negative commandment: one must not let the sun set before his wages have been paid.
"Lo salin pe'ulas sachir itcha ad boker" (Vayikra 19:13) - this is the source for the name of the prohibition: the worker's wages may not remain with the employer overnight until morning.
By virtue of these sources, there is an obligation from a positive commandment and a prohibition from a negative commandment, to pay the wages of a time-based worker on time.
Dividing the 24-hour period into two periods:
The Torah divides the 24-hour day into two halves, and each is called a period (onah): the daytime period and the nighttime period. The foundation of our mishnah is that a worker who worked an entire period - for example, he worked the whole day - must be paid by the end of the following night. If he worked the whole night, he must be paid by the end of the following day. However, a worker who worked only part of a period, a few hours during the day or night: if he finished during the day, he must be paid before the end of the day - and even if there are only ten minutes left until sunset, those are the ten minutes available to the employer. Similarly, at night: a hired worker who was hired for four hours and finished his work at three in the morning must be paid before dawn.
The language of the mishnah:
"Sachir yom goveh kol halailah" - a person who is hired to work during the day, from dawn until the stars come out. Since his workday ended when the stars came out, the entire following night is available for collecting his wages. If the employer did not pay him within this timeframe - he has transgressed the positive commandment to pay on time, and the negative commandment against withholding wages.
"Sachir lailah goveh kol hayom" - one who is hired to work all night must receive his wages during the following day, which is the period following his work.
"Sachir sha'os goveh kol halailah vechol hayom" - one who is hired for part of a period, for a few hours. The correct meaning of the phrasing, and this is the halachah: if he finished working during the day, he must be paid before the end of the day; and if he finished during the night, he must be paid before the end of the night.
"Sachir shabbos, sachir chodesh, sachir shanah, sachir shavua" - one who is hired for a week, a month, a year, or seven years. This refers to a person who lives in one city, comes to work for an employer in another place, and stays there for the duration of his employment. "Yatza bayom - goveh kol hayom": if his last day of work ended in the middle of the day, he collects for the remainder of that day. "Yatza balailah - goveh kol halailah vechol hayom": if he finished in the middle of the night, he can receive his payment during the remainder of that night and the following day.
The Gemara questions this: until now it was stated that collection is within one period only, either by day or by night, and now it is stated that for long-term employment, one can pay both at night and during the day. The Gemara answers that this is indeed a different opinion - the opinion of Rabbi Shimon, and the halachah does not follow him. The halachah follows the Tanna Kamma: even if the worker worked for seven years, and the seven-year period ends at four in the afternoon, the employer has only a short window of time until sunset of that day, if he wishes to fulfill the positive commandment and not transgress the negative commandment.
Practical halachah:
This law is practically relevant every day: one who hires a person who earns by the hour, such as a babysitter or the like, must pay him on the spot. If the employer does not have money for whatever reason - he returns home and says to the babysitter: "I know I owe you a hundred shekels, but I do not have the money on me now, I forgot to go to the bank" - if the worker agrees, there is no problem at all, and he may say: "Pay me tomorrow". But if the worker does not agree, the employer must immediately go to an ATM, withdraw the money and pay. There is no way to bypass this obligation.
If he does not have the money due to circumstances beyond his control - the banks are closed or the like - he does not transgress the negative commandment, since the negative commandment applies to someone who had the ability to pay and chose not to do so. However, in all these cases he certainly does not fulfill the positive commandment. In other words, one who postpones payment until tomorrow, whether with the worker's permission or without his permission, and even due to circumstances beyond his control where he does not have the money - does not fulfill the positive commandment to pay the worker immediately on the day he worked.