On Sept. 15, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced the minimum wage for federal contractors will increase from $10.95 per hour to $11.25 per hour beginning Jan. 1, 2022.
According to a DOL news release, the increase is a result of the DOL’s 2014 final rule, which implemented Executive Order 13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors, and raised the hourly minimum wage paid by contractors to workers on covered federal contracts to $10.10 with annual increases thereafter.
The minimum wage increase to $11.25 per hour is separate from the proposed rule issued by the DOL that would require federal contractors to pay a $15 minimum wage beginning Jan. 30, 2022. Until this rulemaking is finalized and in effect, federal contractors should comply with the $11.25 per hour minimum wage requirement beginning Jan. 1, 2022.
More information on EO 13658 and the annual wage increase can be found on the DOL website, and more information on the proposal can be found in an analysis issued by ABC National’s general counsel, Littler Mendelson, P.C.