Paying one’s employees in the proper time is not merely a nice gesture. Nor is it merely a wise corporate decision which may prove to maintain positive energy in the workers who keep the engine of the business running. For some reason the Torah elevates this important principle to be amongst the most vital Mitzvos in the Torah. The Chafetz Chaim refers to this Mitzva as “a matter that stands at the pinnacle of the world, yet people disregard it”.
An employer who witholds wages can violate one positive commandment and the prohibition reffered to as Ba’al Talin, as well as a number of other scriptural prohibitions1. The Gemara tells us 2 that one who witholds a worker’s wages is tanatamount to embezzeling the soul of the employee. This seems a bit extreme. Why is this Mitzva, more than any other, compared to kidnapping or holding the employee’s soul hostage?!
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