Commentary for Bava Metzia 9:11
שְׂכִיר יוֹם גּוֹבֶה כָל הַלַּיְלָה, שְׂכִיר לַיְלָה גּוֹבֶה כָל הַיּוֹם, שְׂכִיר שָׁעוֹת גּוֹבֶה כָל הַלַּיְלָה וְכָל הַיּוֹם. שְׂכִיר שַׁבָּת, שְׂכִיר חֹדֶשׁ, שְׂכִיר שָׁנָה, שְׂכִיר שָׁבוּעַ, יָצָא בַיּוֹם, גּוֹבֶה כָל הַיּוֹם, יָצָא בַלַּיְלָה, גּוֹבֶה כָל הַלַּיְלָה וְכָל הַיּוֹם:
A hired day-laborer claims (his wages) the entire night. A hired night-laborer claims the entire day. [("A hired day-laborer claims the entire night":) after that day, it being written (Leviticus 19:13): "There shall not abide the wages of a hired man with you until the morning." This cannot be speaking of a hired night-laborer, for hire is paid only at the end (of the working period), it being written (Ibid. 25:53): "As a hired man, year by year," which is expounded: The hire for this year is paid (only) at the beginning of the next year, whence we derive that he (the employer) is not indebted to the day-laborer until sunset. And (Deuteronomy 24:15): "the sun shall not go down upon it" must, perforce, apply to a hired night-laborer, the employer not being indebted to him until morning.] A hired hour-laborer claims the entire day and the entire night. [This is what is intended: A hired day hour-laborer claims the entire day; a hired night hour-laborer claims the entire night.] A hired week-laborer, a hired month-laborer, a hired year-laborer, a hired shemitah-laborer — if his hire ended in the day [i.e., in the morning or during the day], he claims the entire day, [and when the sun sets, the employer transgresses: "There shall not abide, etc."]. If his hire ended at night, he claims the entire night and the entire day. [For since his work continued into dark, he is like a hired night-laborer, and he (the employer) does not transgress in the morning until the next day at sunset.]
Bartenura on Mishnah Bava Metzia
English Explanation of Mishnah Bava Metzia
One that is hired by the hour collects his wages all during [the ensuing] day or [the ensuing] night.
If one was hired by the week, or by the month, or by the year, or by the week of years, if his time of hire expired during the day, he collects his wages all during [the ensuing] day. If his time of hire expired during the night, he collects his wages all during [the ensuing] day and night.
Deuteronomy 24:14-15 and Leviticus 19:13, both command that a worker’s wages must be paid on the same day, before the sun sets. These verses deal directly with one who works during the day, presumably on a daily wage. Mishnah eleven deals with workers who work at night, and with workers who work on hourly, weekly, monthly or yearly wages. Mishnah twelve deals with other laws concerning the commandment not to delay a worker’s wages and its applicability.
The general rule of our mishnah is that an employer may pay his employee within one time period of either day or night from the time of the completion of the work. He may not withhold the wages any longer. If the work was done during the day the employer may pay his employee at any time during the ensuing night. If he were to wait until the following morning he would be violating the commandment not to delay payment. If the work was done during the night he has until the end of the ensuing day to pay the employee.
If the employee was hired on an hourly basis the same rule still basically applies: the employer has one time period from the time of the completion of the work to pay the employee, whether that time period is the day or the night.
Similarly, if the employee is hired on a long term basis, for instance a week, a month, a year or even seven years, and it was agreed that the salary would be paid only upon completion of the work, the employer basically has one time period after the completion to pay his employee. The one exception is if the work is completed at night. According to section three of our mishnah, in such a case he has two time periods: the entire day and the entire night. This clause seems to differ with the rule in section two and indeed the Babylonian Talmud states that the two clauses contain two distinct opinions stemming from two different sources.