Ilana-
worker
Alex-
Beit din
Case 1:
Paula calls Ilana
I: Hello?
I: Yup! I’m just on my way over now
actually. I’m just about to leave the house.
P: Aw that’s a shame, look I’m feeling
under the weather today and I think I could use the exercise of milking my own
cows… so your skills will not be needed today.
I: but… but…
P: I’d rather not hear about your
but thank you very much. I’m canceling your service today. Sorry I’ll call you
again next time Bessie needs a milking.
PAULA HANGS UP
Ilana looks MAD
Ilana calls Alex
A: Hello?
I: Hey Beit Din I need some advice.
A: Sure thing!
I: Here’s what happened…I was hired
to milk Paula’s cows today and this morning before I left my house to go on
over there, Paula gives me a call and has the nerve to tell me LAST MINUTE that
she won’t be needing my services today. Can I claim a loss even though she
called me before I showed up for work?
A: According to the Braiita
presented in Baba Metzia, I’m sorry Ilana but you have no monetary claim and
all you can really do is complain. The only time a person has a monetary claim
against the employer is when the worker shows up and there is no work to be
done, or if in the middle of the day Paula would have told you that she did not
need you to complete the day’s work anymore. Even though in these cases you
would be able to claim from Paula, she would only have to pay you as an
inactive worker because one who works puts in a lot more effort than one whom does
not.
…I remember this case that happened
a couple weeks ago. What happened was a worker was hired on contract and
started to work but then quit in the middle of the day.
Paula calls Ilana
I: Hello?
P: Hey Ilana! I need you to harvest
my field today. I will pay you two selaim.
I: SURE THING!
P: Okay thanks.
A: But in the middle of the
day…Ilana left half of the field unharvested and quit. Or I remember another
case
Paula calls Ilana
I: Hello?
P: Hey Ilana I need you to weave
some garments for me today…I’ve got this killer date tonight. I’ll pay you two
selaim.
I: SURE THING!
P: Okay thanks.
A: but in the middle of the day
Ilana left half the garments unwoven and Paula was forced to go to her date in
her birthday suit…needless to say she was dumped. In these cases Ilana would
receive half of the money which Paula agreed to give her in their contract,
regardless of the current price of labour.
Ilana: Narrator
Alex: Teacher
CASE 2:
I: An excerpt from the above braiita
was taught in the presence of rav…
A: If the workers arrive and there
is no labour for them to perform they are paid full wages.
I: But Rav had a question about
this for his teacher.
P: HOLD ON ONE MINUTE THIS DOES NOT
MAKE SENSE! My uncle rabbi chiya stated that if the workers arrive and there is
no labour for them to perform then he would have paid them as inactive workers.
YOU CANNOT COMPARE THE WORK OF SOMEONE WHO WORKS TO SOMEONE WHO DOES DIDDLY
SQUAT! And yet, the Braiita stated that if the workers arrive and there is no
labour for them to perform they are paid full wages…this is a contradiction to
my uncle.
I: However, this was not a problem
because some say that when Rav’s teacher taught him the Braiita Rav did not
finish learning it. Therefore, he thought that the Braiita meant that you must
pay full wages to a worker who arrives with no work to be found, instead of being
paid as an inactive worker. There is another version of Rav’s question after he
heard the true Braiita which held that if workers show up and there is no work
to be done then they are paid as inactive workers…
P: HOLD ON ONE MINUTE THIS DOES NOT
MAKE SENSE! My uncle rabbi chiya said that if workers show up and there is no
work for them to get done then he would not pay them anything at all. And yet,
the braiita says that we should pay them as inactive workers? THIS CONTRADITCS
MY UNLCE!
I: However, there was no difficulty
posed by this because Rabbi Chiya only said that the workers should not be paid
at all in a case where they inspected the field the night before. For instance…
P: This ditch feels like I’m diggin
my own grave.
A: Aw that’s a shame, you missed a
hole.
P: Don’t tell me which hole to
stick my shovel in.
I: All of the sudden it starts to rain
and the rain fills the ditches with water.
P: Oh no all my work! I guess I
can’t dig any more holes this land is not suitable for my expertise.
A: Okay you’re right but since you
came last night to inspect the field then it is your loss buddy and you do not
get paid for the full day.
P: You can’t do that! This is a
case of Oness!
A: Tell it to someone who cares. Didn’t
you hear what happened last week…
I: Hi Paula I need you to irrigate
my field today.
P: SURE THING!
A: BUT during the day it began to rain
and therefore Paula’s services were no longer needed. The ruling was that Ilana
did not have to pay Paula at all because Paula had inspected the land the night
before.
RETURN TO PREVIOUS CASE
P: Golly! That’s so stupid!
A: Well, I’m sorry. That’s the way
life goes. You know last week my friend hired some people to irrigate his field
too, but in the middle of the day the river from which they were retrieving
their water dried up and they could no longer complete their task. You know
what! The same ruling applied there that does here.
I: This is exactly what the law
states! If the river does not usually dry up on a regular basis then it is the
workers’ loss and they are not paid. If the river does dry up and the workers
are residents of the town then they would be expected to know of the rivers’
condition, and thus, are not paid. However, if they are not residents of the
town then it is the employer’s loss and they are paid as inactive workers.
New Case:
P: employer
I: Workers
A: Beit Din
Paula calls Ilana…
I: Hello?
P: Hey Ilana, I need you to mow the
lawns of my 800 homes. It will probably take you all day to complete.
I: SURE THING!
Ilana comes to work…
P: Would you like some ice cold
lemonade and lunch? You’ve been working so hard.
I: No thanks. I just finished the
800th home now anyways, I guess I’ll be on my way home with my full
day wages now.
P: Wait a tic! It’s only
I: But I have completed my mission…you
cannot do this.
P: Ah! But I can….
A: Ah! But you can’t…you see I am
the Beit din and Rava has a ruling to prevent your evil kind from screwing this
good kind. The law says that if there is a task left that is less or equally
physically demanding then you can ask Ilana to do this task for the rest of the
day and you will not have to pay any additional charges.
P: No!! But I only have a task that
is more physically demanding…where Ilana will be forced to build 3 of my new
summer homes.
A: Ah! But you can’t…you must now
let her take off the rest of the day and pay her the full wages of the entire
day as promised!
P: This doesn’t seem right…I’m
phoning my other cousin Beit Din….
Paula phones Ilana
I: hello?
P: HEY!! You’re not going to
believe what has been done to me! I hired your twin sister to mow my 800 lawns
and I presumed it would take her the entire day, but she finished at lunch and
now she expects me to pay her wages for the entire day! I think I should only
have to pay her as an inactive worker.
I: That ruling only applies to the
workers of Mechoza, we live in Mechozee…. The people of Mechoza were primarily
hired as porters and constantly carried heavy loads...so by allowing them to take
off half the day they earned no benefit because their muscles would weaken. Therefore,
they must be paid full wages. However, in your case my evil sister Ilana does
not have to be paid for the full day and can be paid as an inactive worker.