In 1960, an Israeli archaeologist discovered seven clay fragments that had once constituted a letter written (or, more likely, dictated) by a Jewish field hand sometime in the 7th century BCE, probably during the reign of King Josiah. Henry Abramson explains its significance:
Carefully reconstructed, the entire trapezoid-shaped document measures no more than 20 by 17 centimeters, a little smaller than an iPhone, yet it records incredibly rare information. . . . More specifically, this 2,600-year-old clay text, called an ostracon, records a common field laborer’s complaint against his abusive employer. It is the very first lawsuit brought by an ordinary Jew that invokes the authority of the Torah to support a claim.
What exactly happened? We need to read between the lines to reconstruct the initial problem. It seems that the laborer was taking a well-deserved break in the field after finishing his pre-Shabbat quota of work. . . . Moments later, he was accosted by Hoshayahu ben Shobay, apparently a supervisor or foreman of some sort, who punished the unnamed servant for his presumed laziness by seizing his cloak and taking it as collateral for an unspecified length of time, or perhaps against a measure of harvesting to be done.
Since . . . this remarkable discovery, many great scholars have dedicated energy to squeezing every possible scrap of meaning from the brief and fragmentary complaint. Perhaps the most profound observation is the laborer’s implicit understanding that the foreman’s disciplinary action went beyond the acceptable rules of conduct, as taught in the Torah itself.
Even though the field laborer may have been illiterate, he was apparently familiar with the strict guidelines to be followed when seizing a garment, described in Deuteronomy 24:10-13 and in Exodus 22:25-27.
Read more on Aish.com: https://aish.com/jewish-chutzpahs-ancient-precedent-commoner-sues-toxic-boss-2600-years-ago/