[Avodah] Something's Not Kosher at the Matzah Bakery

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Apr 04, 2011 at 08:05:31PM -0400, Zev Sero wrote:
>> This begs the question, though... Is lo solin defined by contract law,
>> or by the employee's expectation of payment date?

> Surely by his expectation, which is in turn driven by his understanding
> of the prevailing custom.

"Surely"? Do you have reason to be so sure?

Besides, who said that the employee is actually expected to be treated as
poorly as prevailing custom? Lo solin is triggered by the worker coming
to pick up his wages. So I would think it's pretty clear he didn't.

In any case, R Yisroel Pinchos Bodner ("Halakhos of Other People's
Money") discusses paying by check. He doesn't say it's mutar because
that's the norm. He allows paying by check in Israel, because endorsing
the check and using it to pay a third party is common enough for checks
to be like cash. However, in the US he requires that the check be given
the employee at a time when he could deposit it that business day. (Why
time of deposit is more relevent than the fact that it clears well after
that date elludes me.)

But paying by check /is/ the norm in the US, even without making sure
the employee can get the check to the bank that day.

I note that when it comes to credit card payment, he requires that the
worker explicitly agree to those terms up front. Which would also be
consistent with RYPB holding that minhag hatagarim doesn't apply.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "The worst thing that can happen to a
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