ABSTRACT
Appendixes 1 File No. 2535/19 Rabbinical Court (TA) Kiserman v. R. Alexander
Direnfeld, 3 PDR 272 (Isr.) [1959] 2 Maimonides, Code, Laws concerning Sales, chapter 12, 1-5 3 Maimonides, Code, Laws concerning Slaves, chapter 1, 5-9
This chapter will explore the laws governing employees and independent contractors in Jewish law, and the validity of agreements they enter into. As we will see, the employee-contractor distinction raises a fundamental question that will engage us throughout the chapter: what is the legal foundation of the employment agreement? And what is the underlying philosophical and jurisprudential basis for the legal status of agreements entered into by employees and contractors? We will argue that the
employer-employee relationship in Jewish law was initially based on an acquisition model, but later came to be modeled on the concept of obligation. This distinction has important implications for the nature and scope of the obligations and rights created by such agreements, and even broader implications for labor law and employer-employee relations more generally in Jewish law.
