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Colorado Small Business Owner Highlight

When Ramon Alvarez was 9 years old, his family moved to a small ranch just outside of Fresno, California. He worked to help his family make a living until he left for school. While working to pay his way through college, he fell in love with retail.
After years of gaining experience at corporations like Home Depot, where he oversaw the opening of stores across the U.S. and in South America, he fulfilled his dream of opening a business of his own with his wife.
Colorado Events
Colorado Policy
On April 30, Small Business Majority State Policy & Advocacy, Vice President Awesta Sarkash submitted testimony on Senate Bill 26-180. She urged the state to prioritize addressing childcare funding gaps, but not at the expense of the FAMLI program.
On April 30, Small Business Majority State Policy & Advocacy, Vice President Awesta Sarkash submitted written testimony requesting an amendment to Senate Bill 26-178, which would provide stopgap funding for the Health Insurance Affordability Enterprise (HIAE). This is a critical measure that would help lower healthcare costs for Coloradans on the individual market.
On April 21, Small Business Majority Vice President, State Policy & Advocacy Awesta Sarkash submitted written testimony in support of HB26-1210. This legislation would prohibit discrimination against a consumer or worker through the use of a price or wage setting algorithm (PWSA), which would protect small businesses from an increasingly unleveled playing field.
On March 27th, Small Business Majority State Policy & Advocacy Vice President Awesta Sarkash sent a letter to Colorado Senate Health & Human Services Committee in opposition to SB26-140.
Colorado Research
In January 2024, Colorado launched the Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program, offering up to 12 weeks of paid leave for workers dealing with serious health or family-related needs. While many small business owners support paid leave and value taking care of their employees, they’ve faced hurdles navigating FAMLI.
Small Business Majority’s new poll of Colorado small business owners reveals strong support for legislative solutions that would remove barriers for justice-impacted individuals by making reforms to occupational licensing and debt-based driver’s license suspensions. These politically diverse small business owners believe these measures would enable employers to tap into an underutilized workforce and open up opportunities for entrepreneurship.
As entrepreneurs continue to navigate business and economic challenges stemming from pandemic, Small Business Majority surveyed small business owners and operators in Colorado to assess business conditions and the rising costs of healthcare.
Colorado SecureSavings es un nuevo programa estatal de ahorro para la jubilación en el lugar de trabajo creado por la Junta de Colorado SecureSavings. El programa está diseñado para ayudar a los empleadores y empleados de Colorado a establecer contribuciones de nómina automáticas a una cuenta de jubilación individual (IRA) Roth y ahorrar para el futuro. Colorado SecureSavings es un beneficio adicional que se ofrece y no tiene costo para los empleadores.
A continuación puede encontrar una descripción general de lo que las pequeñas empresas necesitan saber sobre el programa.
La Opción Colorado fue establecida por la Legislatura de Colorado para darle a la División de Seguros la habilidad de desarrollar planes de beneficios estándar. Esto permite a las pequeñas empresas comparar y escoger fácilmente el plan que sea más asequible y adecuado a través del mercado individual y de grupos pequeños.
Los votantes de Colorado aprobaron la Proposición 18 en noviembre de 2020, abriendo el camino para un programa estatal de Seguro de Licencia Familiar y Médica (FAMLI). FAMLI permitirá que los pequeños empleadores de Colorado faciliten el acceso a licencia pagada a sus empleados cuando lo necesiten. Esto es crítico para las pequeñas empresas y sus empleados y una iniciativa bienvenida en Colorado.