Prepare Now for the $15 Minimum Wage.

• Date: 01 June 2021
• Author: Guy, Andrew,Lee, Nooree,Menzel, Anna,Guy, Andrew^Lee, Nooree^Menzel, Anna
• Published date: 01 June 2021
• Author: Guy, Andrew

In April, President Joe Biden signed an "Executive Order on Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors" that will raise the hourly minimum wage for federal contractors to $15, effective Jan. 30, 2022. The order builds on Executive Order 13658, "Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors," issued by former President Barack Obama in 2014, which first implemented an hourly minimum wage of $10.10 for covered federal contractors.

Given the Obama-era minimum wage requirement, many experienced defense companies may already have the infrastructure in place to implement this new requirement. Other defense companies who do not already meet this requirement and have employees covered by applicable federal labor laws should begin preparing now given the broad anticipated impact.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, the new executive order will raise wages for up to 390,000 people who work for federal contractors.

The order comes against the backdrop of a series of actions by the Biden administration focusing on minimum wage more generally. On his third day in office, Biden directed the Office of Personnel Management to provide a report with recommendations to implement a $ 15...