Question:
Does an employer have to pay his workers before Rosh HaShanah or does the normal pay date suffice?
Answer:
No.
An employer must pay his workers after they finish the job that they agreed to do. If the worker was hired and it was agreed that he would be paid for a month’s worth of work at the end of the month, the employer is not obligated to pay him before the worker finishes the work that he has to do for that month. This is even if Rosh Hashana comes out in the middle of that month.
If the worker finished his work for the month, which is before Rosh Hashana, but the pay day is after Rosh Hashana, it would be a commendable thing for the employer to pay him, on the last day that the worker worked, because then the employer would fulfill the special mitzva of paying his worker on time. (However if he doesn’t, he is not in violation of the negative commandment not to push off a workers pay, because they agreed that he would not be paid on the correct day.)
Sources:
Baba Metzia 110a, Choshen Mishpat 339-3, Minchas Tzvi 2 2(3),
