Cheating Clients or Employees

From Halachipedia

Fair Wages

  1. It is forbidden to knowingly hire a worker for less than the going rate for a worker of the skill set that the worker has.[1] See also Overcharging.
    1. For example, if a person wants to hire a yeshiva bachur or kollel fellow to learn Torah with his son and he knows the going rate is $30/hr and he hires him for $15/hr, that is onaah and forbidden. If the father knew that the going rate is $30 and the bachur or kollel fellow didn't know the going rate that is forbidden.[1]
    2. For example, if a person wants to hire a high school girl to do babysitting and they know the going rate is $20/hr, they shouldn't hire the girl for $10/hr if she doesn't know the going rate. Doing so is a violation of onaah.[1]
    3. If an employer paid a worker lower than the going rate for that type of work and a worker with his skills, after the fact the employer does not need to pay any extra and the employee has no recourse to claiming that he should be paid more.[2]
  2. There is no halachic obligation to pay living wages (above minimum wage).[3]
  3. A worker can't take outside work without the consent of his employer only if the outside work will cause his productivity at his job to fall below the average productivity of those who have the same job.[4]

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Zera Yakov v. 37 p. 99-100 based on Sma 227:51 who writes that there's an isur onah by avadim and the din that sechirut poalim doesn't have onaah is based on avadim (see SA 227:33).
  2. ↑ Shulchan Aruch C.M. 227:33
  3. ↑ Rabbi Aaron Levine in Economic Morality and Jewish Law pp. 197-201
  4. ↑ Rabbi Aaron Levine in Economic Morality and Jewish Law p. 203, Rabbi Aaron Levine in Free Enterprise and Jewish Law p. 57
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