An Executive Order (E.O.) issued by President Obama in 2014, still in effect, requires certain federal contractors and subcontractors to pay a higher minimum wage than otherwise required under federal law to employees working on covered contracts. E.O. 13658 also contains an escalator clause requiring an annual upwards adjustment in the hourly rate. As a result, the contractor minimum wage will increase from $10.60 an hour to $10.80 an hour, effective January 1, 2020. The statutory federal minimum wage applicable to most other employers is $7.25 an hour.
Also pursuant to the E.O., for covered federal contractors with tipped employees, the minimum wage for these workers will go from $7.40 an hour to $7.55 an hour, effective January 1, 2020.
A copy of the Federal Register notice announcing the increases is available online.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.