(טז) הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, לֹא עָלֶיךָ הַמְּלָאכָה לִגְמֹר, וְלֹא אַתָּה בֶן חוֹרִין לִבָּטֵל מִמֶּנָּה. אִם לָמַדְתָּ תוֹרָה הַרְבֵּה, נוֹתְנִים לְךָ שָׂכָר הַרְבֵּה. וְנֶאֱמָן הוּא בַעַל מְלַאכְתְּךָ שֶׁיְּשַׁלֵּם לְךָ שְׂכַר פְּעֻלָּתֶךָ. וְדַע מַתַּן שְׂכָרָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא:
(16) He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say: It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it; If you have studied much Torah, you shall be given much reward. Faithful is your employer to pay you the reward of your labor; And know that the grant of reward unto the righteous is in the age to come.
I chose this text because it says one is required to pay their employee for the work they have done. This relates to my modern-day example because there are women in nail salons going without pay for the work they are doing.
(15) You must pay out the wages due on the same day, before the sun sets, for the worker is needy and urgently depends on it; else a cry to יהוה will be issued against you and you will incur guilt.
I chose this text because it specifically points out you cannot delay a poor person's pay because they need it at that very moment and cannot wait for it. This relates to my modern-day example because the women working in the nail salons are very poor and their boss waiting until he thinks they are skilled enough to be paid which would not be permitted under jewish law for multiple reasons.
The Gemara clarifies: And can it enter your mind that a Hebrew slave actually works both during the day and at night? But isn’t it already stated: “Because he fares well with you” (Deuteronomy 15:16), which teaches that he must be with you in food and with you in drink? All of the slave’s needs must be fulfilled, and his living conditions must be equal to those of the master himself. If so, he cannot be forced to work under unreasonable conditions. And Rabbi Yitzḥak says in explanation of this halakha: From here it is derived that his master may provide him with a Canaanite maidservant against his will to produce children for the master. This is the service he performs at night.
I choose this text because it shows a deeper part of the modern issue in my article. It states that one cannot be forced to work under unreasonable conditions which is exactly what is happening to the workers in my article. These nail salon workers are told that they can work without pay for months until ready, or they can lose their job and try to find a new one in a country where they barely speak the language. This does not really give them an option and forces them to work under unreasonable conditions.
(39) If your kin under you continue in straits and must be given over to you, do not subject them to the treatment of a slave.
I choose this text because it talks about not treating someone that is your family as a slave if they ever work for you. This is useful to me because the people working in the nail salons are being treated almost as slaves. Even though they are not family members of the boss, the Jewish law does not permit the boss to treat them this way. They are working long painful hours with no pay which I would consider a form of slavery.