Mayor Strimling’s proposal to force businesses to provide paid time off to all employees, even part-time workers, is the definition of irresponsible. There is no evidence of a problem, and no understanding of the impact of the proposal on our businesses. If my company or any of my clients’ companies ran this way, we’d surely be out of business.
There are so many unanswered questions: How many businesses would be affected by this proposal? Where is the data that supports his claim that a problem exists? How much will it cost the city to implement this policy? How many city employees will it take to enforce the new law? How much will it cost businesses?
How will businesses (like mine) with employees in and out of Portland handle this new requirement? Will some employees get paid time off, and some not? How will it impact our paid time off plan? What about all the people who work in Portland but whose companies are not located in Portland, like tradespeople?
How much will it cost Portland businesses to provide paid time off to people who don’t live in Portland, but who work in Portland?
How many businesses will decide to move out of Portland to neighboring towns to avoid this requirement?
What will the impact on Portland’s tourism industry be? How will this affect our growing restaurant industry? How will these businesses handle the scheduling nightmare this proposal will create for them?
There are so many questions that haven’t been answered. This is no way to run a city. Before pushing this across-the-board policy, Portland needs to learn more about both the alleged need for a law like this and the potential impact of it.
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