Q: We have a number of temps that were hired for us by an outside employment agency. Do the laws of prompt payment apply to them as well?

A: The Gemara (B.M. 110a-b) teaches that if someone hires an employee to work for another person, neither party violates the prohibition of “bal talin” if payment is delayed. The business owner does not violate, because he did not hire the worker, and the one who hired does not violate, because he is not withholding the wages. This is true even if the first person who hired the employee was an agent of the owner. However, there is a rabbinic obligation on the owner to pay as soon as possible, based on the verse, “al tomar l’reiacha” (C. M. 339:7).

If the agent who hired is also responsible for paying the worker, though, he would violate bal talin. Thus, if the temp is hired and paid through a human resources company, they would be in violation, since they are also withholding his pay (ibid). Similarly, if a business has a senior executive officer who has full authority for hiring and paying, he would be in violation (Ahavas Chesed 10:4).