Negative commandment · Lo Ta’aseh #238 of 613
Not to delay payment of a worker
שלא לאחר פעולת שכיר
The verse · Vayikra 19:13
לֹא־תַעֲשֹׁק אֶת־רֵעֲךָ וְלֹא תִגְזֹל לֹא־תָלִין פְּעֻלַּת שָׂכִיר אִתְּךָ עַד־בֹּקֶר
“Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.”
The Rambam’s words
Not to delay payment of a worker, as [Leviticus 19:13] states: "Do not hold back a worker's wages overnight."
שלא לאחר פעולת שכיר, שנאמר "לא תלין פעולת שכיר, איתך" (ויקרא יט,יג).
Why · Sefer HaChinuch #230
To not delay the wage of a wageworker
“It is from the roots of the commandment [that it is] because G-d, blessed be He, desires the preservation of Man which He created. And it is well-known that with the delay of nourishment, the body will be destroyed.”
Who & when
“And it is practiced in every place and at all times.”
Where in the Mishneh Torah
Hilchot Hiring הלכות שכירות