In this March 11, 2021, file photo President Joe Biden arrives to speak about the COVID-19 pandemic during a prime-time address from the East Room of the White House in Washington. Biden will mark his 100th day in office on Thursday, April 29.
In this March 11, 2021, file photo President Joe Biden arrives to speak about the COVID-19 pandemic during a prime-time address from the East Room of the White House in Washington. Biden will mark his 100th day in office on Thursday, April 29. | Associated Press

By Jeff Parrott

President Joe Biden will sign an executive order Tuesday raising the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 an hour, which will apply to all new and extended government contracts beginning January 2022.

  • “This executive order will promote economy and efficiency in federal contracting, providing value for taxpayers by enhancing worker productivity and generating higher-quality work by boosting workers’ health, morale and effort,” the White House said in a statement Tuesday morning ahead of the signing.
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According to the White House, here is what Tuesday’s executive order will change for federal contractors:

  • The $15 minimum wage will begin Jan. 30, 2022, and apply to all new government contracts and current contracts that are extended next year.
  • The minimum wage will adjusted annually for inflation.
  • A “tipped minimum wage” for federal contractors will be removed by 2024, meaning federal workers who make tips during their work will make at least the minimum wage in base pay.
  • The new minimum wage for federal contractors will extend to workers with disabilities.
  • Biden’s new order will revoke a Trump-era executive order and restore minimum wage protections for guides and outfitters who operate on federal land.
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“Officials told reporters the change will help address income inequality. They said they do not expect the higher wage to raise costs for taxpayers because it will boost productivity and morale, and reduce recruitment and training costs caused by higher turnover,” National Public Radio reported Tuesday.

  • The last minimum wage increase for federal contractors happened in 2014, when then-President Barack Obama signed a similar executive order, The New York Times reported.

The president’s order comes on the heels of the proposed $2.3 trillion “American Jobs Plan,” which includes a plan to employ Americans to complete a vast array of government-sponsored infrastructure projects.

The Biden administration and House Democrats tried to include a $15 per hour federal minimum wage (different than the federal contractors’ wage) in the “American Rescue Plan Act” — the coronavirus response legislation that passed earlier this year — but the language was left out of the Senate’s version of the bill.