By Rabbi Chaim Francis and Rabbi Yitzchak Elefant

1] If no employees—whether Jewish or non-Jewish—will be entering the office at any point during Pesach, it may be possible to sell the entire office, including any chametz contained within it, thereby avoiding the obligation to conduct a bedikah.

2] If employees will be entering the office at some point during Chol HaMoed (a rabbinic authority should be consulted regarding when it is permitted to work or have work done during this time), simply selling the office to a non-Jew would not be a viable option, as employees would then be unable to use the office. Therefore, the halachic considerations will depend on the following:

• Where the company maintains a proper shtar mechirah (sale of the entire business) covering Shabbos and all eight days of Pesach, including Erev Pesach^[1], there is no obligation to conduct a bedikah, remove the chametz, or sell the chametz separately, as the sale of the business itself is sufficient. If Jewish employees will be entering the office during Pesach, any chametz must be stored away and kept inaccessible to them. If a non-Jewish employee brings in their own chametz, it is not an issue, provided they are careful to dispose of it properly.
• Where the company does not have a shtar mechirah for Shabbos, it must ensure that it does not provide any chametz, or alternatively, it must sell the chametz and ensure that it is not accessible for any employees—Jewish or non-Jewish—to use. Regarding non-Jewish employees bringing in their own chametz, they should be instructed to discard it in the normal manner if other Jewish employees will be present^[2]. However, if there is a concern that a non-observant Jewish person will bring chametz onto the premises, this presents an additional issue, as according to many poskim, it is forbidden to allow any chametz owned by a Jew into one’s home or property on Pesach^[3]. Accordingly, one must consider either prohibiting food from being brought onto the premises or executing a sale of the business through a valid shtar mechirah.

3] When neither the office nor the business is being sold, the halachos of bedikah are as follows:

• Main Office Area: The office should be thoroughly vacuumed and cleaned. In most cases, the standard cleaning by the regular cleaning crew will be sufficient.
• Personal Desk Space: On the last day in the office before Bedikas Chometz, each employee must ensure that their individual workspace is free of chametz. This includes their chair, desk drawers, desktop surface, keyboard, phone, and garbage can.

The owner remains responsible for ensuring that this procedure is fully implemented. Sending an email to the Jewish employees, stating that the company is relying on them to perform this task, is sufficient^[4].

• Conference Room: One person should be designated to take responsibility for inspecting the conference room, ensuring that the table and chairs are clean and free of chametz.
• Kitchen: The kitchen should be thoroughly cleaned. All chametz food and beverages must be discarded, and any kitnios items should be put away. Any appliances used for chametz, as well as any food one does not wish to discard, should be placed in a single designated area. Only this designated area containing all the chametz should be sold to a non-Jew and must not be accessible to anyone. Alternatively, the entire kitchen space may be sold. However, if the entire kitchen is sold, no one—including non-Jewish employees—may enter that space during Chol HaMoed.

As mentioned above, if non-Jewish employees bring in their own food, care must be taken to ensure that any leftovers are properly discarded and do not remain in any area owned by the company.

Company-Owned Offices in Other Locations

• Company-owned offices located in other areas are subject to the same halachos outlined above. If the office will be closed from Erev Pesach, a standard Mechiras Chametz may be performed. If the office will remain open, simply selling the office to a non-Jew with a standard mechiras chometz is not a viable option, as employees would then be unable to use the office. However, if the business has executed a shtar mechira to sell the entire business (including Chol HaMoed) starting from Erev Pesach, this arrangement also eliminates the need for a bedikah.
• If neither the office nor the business is being sold, one must ensure that any chametz in the office is removed and confirmed by a Jew to be discarded prior to the zeman. There is no issue with non-Jewish employees working in these offices bringing their own food that is not kosher for Pesach^[5]. However, they should be informed to discard any leftovers from any area owned by the company if Jewish employees will also be present.

Non-Jewish Employees Purchasing Chametz

A Jewish-owned company may provide a non-Jewish employee with funds to purchase food items, including chametz, as long as the employee is not specifically instructed to buy chametz, even if the employer expects chametz to be purchased^[6].

Furthermore, if the Jewish employer is not obligated to provide food to the employee and is offering it as a benefit, they may allow the non-Jewish employee to order food from a vendor and have the vendor bill the company directly, provided again that the employee is not instructed to buy chametz.

• Since payment is neither made in advance nor at the time of purchase, the chametz is not considered to have been purchased by the Jewish employer.
• Additionally, because the company never takes physical possession of the chametz, this arrangement is permitted.

It is questionable whether the company’s credit card may be used for such purchases. Therefore, it is advisable to provide the employee with cash or a visa gift card so they can purchase food as they choose.

Bedikah

If the office or business is not being sold, the owners are responsible for ensuring that a bedikah is conducted there. Ideally, this should be performed as a continuation of one’s bedikah in his own home.

If that is not feasible, it should be conducted on another night as close to that time as possible, with the understanding that no chametz may be brought into the office after the bedikah has been completed.

If it is not possible to conduct the bedikah on an earlier evening, it may be performed during the daytime on Erev Pesach.

^[1] If the sale only takes effect on the night of Pesach, there will be an obligation to conduct a bedikah and to remove all chametz by the time of sof biur chametz.

^[2] As although the business is still owned by the Jewish person, we do not assume that he has any intention to acquire the chometz, as heard from R’ Shmuel Felder Shlit’a. However, there remains the halachic concern of removing chametz to prevent anyone from eating it (See Mishna Berurah 440,18).

^[3] See Mishnah Berurah 443:14, who cites the opinion of the Vilna Gaon.

^[4] As heard from R’ Yaakov Forchheimer Shlit’a.

^[5] As heard from R’ Shmuel Felder Shlit”a

^[6] Shulchan Aruch O.C. 450:6