The Times of Israel has a feature on B&H, the Satmar owned camera store. B&H has been successfully sued several times for discriminating against non-Jewish employees, including for paying them less than Jewish employees, and blocking them from management positions. In the article, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, who is an Orthodox rabbi and an author of several Jewish business books is quoted in the article as saying:
Lapin maintains that none of the aforementioned allegations undermine B&H’s integrity. “Where in the Torah does it say that you have to pay all employees the same rate? Where in the Torah is equality depicted as a virtue? The answer is nowhere at all.” The company’s business model, according to Lapin, adheres to God’s plan insofar as it’s described in, “His book.”
“The notion that there’s a moral flaw in people who, because they don’t pay all their employees the same — I’m not sure I see the basis for that in morality. It may not be fair, it may not be legal, those are not my areas. But to say that there is a clash with Jewish values simply would not be true,” said Lapin.
Is Lapin's view correct? Excluding dina d'malchuta issues, is it correct that there is no moral problem in Judaism with workplace discrimination? If so, what sources support this claim?
