The Torah commands in Parashat Kedoshim (Vayikra 19:13), “Lo Talin Pe’ulat Sachir Itecha Ad Boker” – “Do not keep with you the wages of a hired worker until the morning.” The Sages understood this verse as referring to the wages owed to an employee who works during the day. The employer has the entire night, until the next morning, to pay the worker the wages owed for that day’s work. Elsewhere (Debarim 24:15), the Torah requires paying a worker by sundown (“Ve’lo Tabo Alav Ha’shemesh”), and the Rabbis explained that this refers to an employee hired to work during the night. His wages must be paid by sundown the following day. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that the Torah issued this command because G-d “Hafetz Be’kiyum Ha’adam” – wants people to be able to sustain themselves. Clearly, one who does not get paid for his work will not have a livelihood, and will thus be unable to purchase food or his other necessities. The Torah allows the employer to delay payment for a night or a day, the Sefer Ha’hinich explains, because people occasionally fast for an entire day, and so a person’s sustenance is not threatened if he needs to wait a day before receiving his wages. Beyond one day, however, the worker will need his money in order to purchase food, and so the Torah commands the employer to pay by the end of day or night after the work was completed. If a person worked for several hours during the day, then the employer must pay him by the end of that day, and if a person worked for several hours during the night, the employer must pay him by the end of the night. If a person is hired on a weekly, monthly or annual basis, then if he stops working during the day, he is to be given his wages by the end of the day, and if he finishes working during the night, then he must be paid by the end of the night. This prohibition applies not only to wages for work, but also to the payment of rent for the use of one’s animal or utensil. This, too, must be paid on time. If a person brings something to a professional to repair, or a garment to be cleaned or sewn, then he must pay the craftsman on the day he comes to pick it up. As long as the article is with the craftsman, the owner is not required to pay. But once he picks it up, he must pay by the end of that day. One violates this prohibition only if he delays payment after the worker asked to be paid. If the worker has yet to request payment, or if it was understood that the wages would be paid later, this prohibition is not violated. If the employer does not have money with which to pay the worker, then he does not transgress this command by delaying payment until funds become available. If the employer had told the worker that a third party would be paying for his services, and the worker accepted this arrangement, then the employer is not in violation of this command if the third party fails to pay. Since the worker accepted this arrangement, he must now try to obtain the funds from the third party; the employer is not responsible to ensure that the worker receives his wages. If the worker asked for his wages, and the employer did not pay by the deadline set by the Torah, he has transgressed this prohibition. If he continues to delay payment, then he violates a prohibition enacted by the Sages forbidding continuing to withhold a worker’s wages. Of course, this prohibition applies at all times, in all places, and to both men and women. One who transgressed this prohibition does not receive Malkut, as he instead simply pays the worker the money he is owed.