Minhag Hamedinah
Common Commercial Practice #6
Practiced Based on Law
Q: If people act as mandated by law, is this considered minhag hamedinah?
A: We mentioned that regulations established by the city council are binding, as are practices adopted by the townspeople of their own accord.
Furthermore, if people typically act as mandated by law — even if regulated by officials who do not have the halachic status of the city council or in situations not recognized by halachah as dina d’malchusa (the law of the land binding between two Jews) — the practice is halachically binding as minhag hamedinah.
An example is severance pay, in places mandated by law when laying off a worker. Even if one were to maintain that the law itself is not halachically binding between Jews, once it becomes a widespread, common practice based on the law, the employer is required to pay the worker severance as minhag hamedinah, even if not stipulated initially (see Pischei Choshen, Sechirus 7:7[17]; Chazon Ish B.K. 23:2 s.v. v’chol, Likutim C.M. 16:1 citing Shach).
