Bava Metzia 76A

אם בעל הבית חוזר בו ⁠– ידו על התחתונה. כל המשנה ⁠– ידו על התחתונה, וכל החוזר בו ⁠– ידו על התחתונה.

Conversely, if the employer reneges, he is at a disadvantage. These two rulings are in accordance with the principle that whoever changes the terms accepted by both parties is at a disadvantage, and whoever reneges on an agreement is at a disadvantage.

גמ׳ ״חזרו זה בזה״ לא קתני, אלא ״הטעו זה את זה״, דאטעו פועלים אהדדי. היכי דמי? דאמר ליה בעל הבית: זיל, אוגר לי פועלים, ואזל איהו ואטעינהו.

Talmud: The Talmud starts by analyzing the phrase: And they deceived one another. The Talmud comments: The tanna does not teach: They reneged on the agreement with one another, which would indicate that either the employer or the laborers changed their mind. Rather, it states that they deceived one another, which evidently means that the laborers deceived one another. The Talmud therefore inquires: What are the circumstances? The Talmud explains: This is referring to a case where, For example: the employer said to one of the laborers: Go and hire laborers for me, and that laborer went and deceived those other laborers.

היכי דמי? אי דאמר ליה בעל הבית בארבעה, ואזיל איהו אמר להו בתלתא ⁠– תרעומת מאי עבידתיה? סבור וקביל. אי דאמר ליה בעל הבית בתלתא, ואזיל איהו אמר להו בארבעה ⁠– היכי דמי? אי דאמר להו: ״שכרכם עלי״⁠ – נתיב להו מדידיה,

The Talmud again asks: What are the circumstances of this deception? If the employer said to him: Hire for me laborers at 4 dinars, and he went and told them that they are hired for 3 dinars, what is the relevance of this grievance? After all, they knew and accepted the conditions of their hire. What grounds for complaint do they have? If the employer said to him to hire laborers for 3 dinars, and the middleman went and told them it was for 4, what are the circumstances? If he told them at the time: The monetary value of your services, i.e., your wage, is incumbent upon me, let that middleman give them the difference from his own pocket.