On May 15, Small Business Majority Senior Public Policy Director Awesta Sarkash sent a letter to Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman and President Pro Tempore Kim Ward urging them to support The Family Care Act, legislation that would establish a paid family and medical leave insurance fund.
Today, Public Policy Director Awesta Sarkash sent a letter to the Pennsylvania House Labor & Industry Committee urging them to pass HB 200, which would create a paid family and medical leave insurance fund in the state. This program would allow small business owners to access and offer this benefit to their employees, helping them overcome challenges in the workforce.
Small Business Majority has created recommendations to capture our policy priorities that would help to ensure a thriving and inclusive economy in Pennsylvania. The state is comprised of more than 1.1 million small businesses employing 2.5 million people. This is why it’s critical that state lawmakers enact policies and programs to support and empower these entrepreneurs, guaranteeing they have access to critical resources and incentives to start and grow their business.
On January 29, 2025, Small Business Majority Public Policy Director Awesta Sarkash sent a letter to the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation urging them to pass legislation extending the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits that make health insurance more affordable for entrepreneurs and their employees.
Small business owners across the Keystone State know it makes good business sense to take care of the people who work for them. However, they often struggle to provide key benefits, including paid family and medical leave, which they believe would help them recruit and retain their workers. With small businesses struggling to compete with large companies that can offer attractive benefits packages, it should come as no surprise that they support establishing a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program that would make it easier for them to facilitate their employees’ access to the paid time off they need to support their families while keeping their jobs.
On June 11, Small Business Majority and Evan Starr, economist and Associate Professor of Management and Organization at the University of Maryland’s Robert M. Smith School of Business, filed an Amicus Brief in a case before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in support of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) rule to ban non-compete agreements. On July 23, the court ultimately declined to block the FTC’s ban, citing that the FTC does in fact have authority to issue the rule.
Today, Public Policy Director, Awesta Sarkash, submitted a letter of support for SB 580, The Family Care Act. SB 580 would create a paid family and medical leave insurance fund in Pennsylvania. This program would allow small business owners to access and offer this benefit to their employees, helping them overcome challenges in the workforce.
Today, Awesta Sarkash, Public Policy Director, submitted a letter of support for HB 181, the Family Care Act. The bill would create a paid family and medical leave insurance fund in state and allow small business owners to access and offer this benefit to their employees, helping them overcome challenges in the workforce.
Today, Public Policy Director, Awesta Sarkash, submitted a letter of support to Pennsylvania's House Judiciary Committee for HB 689, legislation that would expand Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate laws and ensure people who have served their time get at second chance. With small businesses facing an acute labor shortage and 1 in 3 American adults having some form of criminal or arrest record, there are major opportunities to change barriers to employment that would benefit the small business ecosystem.
Small businesses in Pennsylvania are still struggling to hire and retain a ready workforce, persistent challenges in the wake of the pandemic.
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