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Colorado Small Business Owner Highlight

Cuando Ramon Alvarez tenía 9 años, su familia se mudó a un pequeño rancho en las afueras de Fresno, California. Él trabajó para ayudar a su familia a ganarse la vida hasta que se inició su vida escolar. Mientras trabajaba para pagar sus estudios universitarios, él se enamoró del comercio minorista.
Después de años de adquirir experiencia en corporaciones como Home Depot, donde él supervisó la apertura de tiendas en los Estados Unidos y en América del Sur, él cumplió su sueño de abrir su propia empresa junto con su esposa.
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 voters approved Proposition 118 in November of 2020, paving the way for a state-run Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program. FAMLI will allow small employers in Colorado to facilitate access to paid time off to their employees when they need to care for a family member. This is crucial for small businesses and their employees and a welcomed initiative in Colorado.
Colorado SecureSavings is a new state workplace retirement savings program created by the Colorado SecureSavings Board. The program is designed to help Colorado employers and employees set automatic payroll contributions to a Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) account and save for the future. Colorado SecureSavings is an added benefit to offer and comes at no cost to employers.
The Colorado Option was established by the Colorado Legislature to give the Division of Insurance the ability to develop standard benefit plans. This allows small businesses to easily compare and choose the plan that is right for them through the individual and small group marketplace.