While Mayor Mark Dion has numerous serious issues to contend with in Portland, one that deserves urgent attention is the city’s emergency wage policy.

The inflated wage was intended to address emergencies that placed a greater risk on employees who had to work under conditions that posed a more serious risk. However, the policy neglected to accommodate weather impacts that might not have the same effect in Portland as the rest of Cumberland County.

The recent storms are concerning, but the physical impacts regionally simply did not require the same response in Portland. Certainly, some businesses, particularly those along the waterfront, felt the damaging impacts of the high tide and rising ocean. But as the skies broke, all businesses, not just those impacted, were forced into Portland’s emergency wage conditions – and paying employees $22.50 per hour. Because many local businesses have such a small profit margin, they made the very difficult decision to close during this time, and their employees lost hours of work.

Owners can pass increased costs on to consumers, but there are some cases where the response to an unpredictable “emergency” just doesn’t facilitate that change.

For child care providers who have felt the direct impacts of our national and local inflation, the additional unexpected expense causes a major disruption in operations. Shutting down means parents must scramble to find alternative, safe options for child care. Keeping the doors open during an emergency wage is a financial nightmare. And passing the increase in costs on to parents is also not a viable solution; parents cannot afford to pay more for child care. The cascade of problems from this policy captures customers, workers, vendors and small local businesses.

Managing the transition from one wage to another is complicated. In the case of the January storm, the emergency order arrived in the middle of the day. Coordination must happen with shift work, the payroll company and last-minute decisions that cause issues. It seems flawed this ordinance would be in place during days when the sun is shining in the city and there is no greater risk to the public than on an average day in Portland.

Businesses thrive under regulatory consistency. When there is cause for a change, it should be based on sound decision-making. In this case, local control for activating the change in the minimum wage would be ideal. There is value in a state of emergency that assists with repairing damage, but when there is no apparent risk to employees coming to work, the emergency wage is not necessary. Businesses directly impacted will have the decision to close and can obtain state and federal assistance to accommodate those impacts. City leaders should be the ones to determine whether a storm warrants a temporary wage increase, and they can rescind the order when appropriate.

As days move along and clear skies follow a passing storm, the absurdity of tying wage policy to storm damage is laid bare. The serious threat employees encountered during the COVID-19 outbreak warranted additional compensation. I believe that the emergency wage policy should be reserved for those types of emergencies, where additional risk is placed on employees, not in the days following a storm.

As Mayor Dion tackles competing City Council priorities and many other challenges in Portland, he should correct the flaws in this ordinance and allow for local control. Hard-working businesses deserve certainty and the ability to ensure low-risk events are not a financial hardship.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Opinion: The state must slow Casella’s rush to expand landfill

Next »

Jim Fossel: Incivility in politics lets us all down