GB Magazine February 2022 | Page 81

Options For All offers a highly attractive career path with a starting wage for Direct Support Professionals of $ 17 to $ 19 per hour , and day-one access to a comprehensive suite of no-cost benefits and a retirement plan . Benefits include top-quality health , dental , and vision plans to ensure staff can receive the care they need . Every employee , from the entry-level worker to the C-suite , receives access to the exact same health plans . Please visit their website to learn more .
www . optionsforall . org
and promote inclusion in the professional and personal lives of our participants . Part of that means erasing the stigma of minimum and subminimum wages for the professionals who work at OFA and the participants we serve .
OFA recognizes equity in not only those they serve , but their employees that make services possible . In February 2020 , during his first week on the job , Barnes shared his goal to increase the OFA ’ s wage floor to $ 20 an hour . Later that year , OFA made its first investment in this goal , when it raised the company ’ s minimum to $ 15 an hour , effectively raising wages for 75 percent of OFA employees .
In 2021 , OFA made a second investment in its workers and participants by increasing the minimum OFA pays its workers from $ 15 to $ 17 an hour , bringing the average hourly wage to $ 17.97 . Three-quarters of OFA employees and 98 % of participants are impacted by this increase , improving equity for all OFA staff and creating a new standard for employees who work with a disability .
OFA has championed equity for those they serve by leading the charge , alongside Senator María Elena Durazo , in fighting for fair wages in the I / DD community . Senate Bill 639 , her legislation eliminating the sub-minimum wage for persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities , passed the Legislature with large , bi-partisan majorities and was signed by Governor Newsom last year . This is a giant win for California !
FEBRUARY 2022 | GBSAN . COM 81