Negocios Now

www.negociosnow.com 20 Agosto 2015 NegociosNow NegociosNow Votarán ordenanza para reglamentar a 1,500 vendedores ambulantes Foto Archivo La medida busca regular el trabajo de los ambulantes y, a la vez, velar por la salud pública de miles de consumidores en la ciudad. Foto Courtesy Wil Salvador, President at Salvador Insurance, Inc. Raising workers compensation for Hispanics By Carlos Sosa W orker's compensation has been getting a lot of attention lately. The Illinois House of Representatives spent this past summer figuring out a proper workers compensa- tion package for the millions of employees in Illinois. One mino- rity group however, still trails in implementing workers compen- sation. More and more Hispanics are becoming business owners. New owners though, all have a tough time growing their busi- ness and becoming successful. New owners might overlook something as basic as workers compensation. "Every business with emplo- yees, by law, needs to carry Wor- kers Compensation Insurance," said Wil Salvador of the Salvador Insurance Agency. "Even if they have family working for them, which is common in the Hispa- nic community." Salvador is an insurance pro- fessional and has been working adamantly to raise awareness in the Hispanic community about workers compensation. Any new entrepreneur can start a busi- ness, but maintaining that busi- ness is much harder and requires employees who need to be taken care of. "Workers compensation can be made effective any time and should be activated the first time you hire an employee," said Sal- vador. It's the law to have workers compensation for any business. Not only does it protect emplo- yees but also the employer. It's a Class 4 felony to not have wor- kers comp as an employer and the State Commission may issue a work-stop order and shut down all business operations until the employer provides proof of insu- rance. The issue is that Hispanics don't know where to go for pro- per guidance and it boils down to education. "Hispanics aren't aware that they have to have this covera- ge," Salvador said. "The reason they're not actually moving forward with (workers comp) is because they don't know they have to have it. Second, they don't understand it and part of it is just education." Some of the working Hispanic population doesn't speak English as a first language. That barrier causes employers and emplo- yees alike, to overlook their own rights and most importantly, what the law requires. Even Hispanic employees who aren't citizens and are working under- the-table are eligible for workers comp. To help raise awareness Sal- vador has translated the workers compensation plan into Spa- nish. And has made a concerted effort to provide as many bro- chures in Spanish to help ease the language barrier. Yet, more help is needed. "Outreach through Chambers or other organizations in the community are ways to help to raise awareness," Salvador said. As employees continue to fight for better insurance and wages its important that every part of the workforce unders- tands their rights. U nos 1500 vendedores ambulantes tendrían que operar con una licencia si es aprobada próxima- mente una legislación del Con- cejal Roberto Maldonado (D-26) que regula la actividad. Según dijo Maldonado a la prensa, la ordenanza introduci- da en el 2014 y que se somete- ría a votación este mes, cuenta con los votos necesarios para su aprobación. La propuesta, que fue impul- sada por la Asociación de Vende- dores Ambulantes (AVA) y escrita en colaboración con el Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneur- ship, establece que los también llamados "eloteros" paguen una cuota de $500 por la licencia. Maldonado buscaría reducir este monto a la mitad. Se estima que los Ambulan- tes facturan alrededor de $700 brutos semanales, buena parte de ese monto es invertido en gastos del negocio. La medida requeriría que los comerciantes cambien sus carritos, en su mayoría de made- ra, por otros de acero inoxidable y que los alimentos sean alma- cenados en depósitos cerrados para evitar su contaminación. El carrito requerido podría costar hasta $5,000, una cifra que no es del agrado de los ven- dedores. La iniciativa apunta asi- mismo a la regulación de plati- llos preparados como tamales, champurrado, chicharrones, pupusas, y frutas aderezadas con limón, chile y sal. La ordenanza es apoyada por el AVA que por años se ha venido quejando de las acciones de las autoridades e inspecto- res del Departamento de Salud que multan a sus miembros, al considerar que incumplen con las normas de sanidad e higiene adecuadas. En declaraciones a canales de televisión locales, varios "elo- teros" coinciden en afirmar que si existe una regulación, pue- den trabajar "tranquilos, sin que nadie nos moleste"

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