Biden to Raise Federal Contractor’s Minimum Wage
President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order today requiring federal contractors to pay a $15 minimum wage, which could put pressure on private sector employers to raise low-income workers’ pay.
According to a White House statement, the executive order hiking the wages of hundreds of thousands of employees who are working on federal contracts “will have impacts beyond federal contracting, as competitors in the same labor markets as federal contractors may increase wages, too, as they seek to compete for workers.” The executive order will require all federal agencies to incorporate a $15 minimum wage into new contract solicitations by January 2022 and into newly signed contracts by March 2022, the White House announced. The minimum hourly rate will then rise annually to keep pace with inflation. |