Positive Commandment 200 (Digest)
Timely Remittance of Wages
"Give him his wage on the day it is due"—Deuteronomy 24:15.
We are commanded to pay a daily worker in a timely fashion, and not to delay payment. A day worker collects his wages on the night that follows, and a night worker collects his wages on the following day. This mitzvah applies to all workers—whether Jewish or gentile.
The 200th mitzvah is that we are commanded to pay a hired worker on the day that he works, and not to delay it to another day.
The source of this commandment is G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "You must give him his wage on the day it is due."
This mitzvah dictates that a day worker can collect his wages the following night and that a night worker can collect his wages the following day, as explained in the prohibitions.
The details of this mitzvah are completely explained in the 9th chapter of tractate Bava Metzia. There it is explained that this obligation applies to all hired workers, whether Jewish or non-Jewish, and that it is a positive commandment to pay on time.
Negative Commandment 238 (Digest)
Postponing Payment for a Hired Worker
"The wages of a hired worker shall not be left with you overnight until the morning"—Leviticus 19:13.
It is forbidden to delay the timely payment of a hired worker. A day worker must be given his wages on the night that follows, and a night worker on the day that follows.
This prohibition applies only to a Jewish worker (as opposed to the positive commandment to pay in a timely fashion, which applies to both Jewish and non-Jewish workers).
The 238th prohibition is that we are forbidden from withholding and delaying payment of a hired worker's wages.
The source of this prohibition is G‑d's statement (exalted be He), "Do not let a worker's wages remain with you overnight until morning."
When does this verse apply? If he is a day worker he collects his wages the following night, as the verse says, "until morning." If he is a night worker he collects his wages during that night or the following day. He must receive his wages by the time the sun sets, as it is written, "You must give him his wage on the day it is due, and not let the sun set with him waiting for it."
In the words of the Mishneh: "A day worker can collect his wages the following night and that a night worker can collect his wages the following day."
They do not count as two mitzvos, but are rather two prohibitive statements that complete one mitzvah, i.e., from these two prohibitive statements we know when he must be paid.
The details of this mitzvah are explained in the 9th chapter of tractate Bava Metzia. There it is explained that this prohibition applies only to a hired worker who is Jewish — that if one delays paying him, he transgresses the prohibition. However, if the worker is not Jewish, one violates only the positive commandment "You must give him his wage on the day it is due."
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