Cascade Policy Institute Board member Gilion Dumas recently spent 90 minutes with six young women at Portland State University who were preparing for a debate with their peers about the issue of mandatory sick leave. The women were part of the 2015 class at the PSU NEW Leadership Program, an annual, six-day residential leadership training program for enrolled college women.
The six students were assigned to argue against mandatory sick leave – but since most of them had limited experience in business, it was challenging to fully understand the effects of a government mandate. Gilion, owner of a law firm – Dumas Law Group – helped them appreciate that both employers and employees prefer to have choices rather than mandates. Everyone has different needs; some employees would prefer higher salaries with fewer benefits, while others might prefer the opposite. In the absence of government regulation, managers and employees are free to negotiate the solutions that work best for them.
Gilion enjoyed it and learned a lot from these young women. This was at least the fourth time that speakers from Cascade have been invited to present at the NEW Leadership Program. We appreciate being part of the guest faculty, and look forward to working with NEW Leadership in the future.
