Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a notice of proposed rulemaking to establish standards and procedures to implement and enforce Executive Order 14026, “Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors,” signed by President Joe Biden in April. By issuing the notice, the U.S. Department of Labor is opening up a public comment period on the executive order that lasts until August 23.
Following the announcement, Karla Walter, senior director of employment policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
Raising the contractor minimum wage to $15 would improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of American workers and help close pay disparities for women and Black and Latino workers, who are more likely to be employed in the low-wage industries that our government contracts. The proposed rule also boosts equity by eliminating the tipped minimum wage for contract workers by 2024, ensuring coverage for workers with disabilities, and extending the contractor minimum wage protections to workers in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories.
Certainly, there is more to be done to ensure that corporations receiving billions in government spending function as model employers, but these actions are a critical step toward delivering on President Biden’s commitments to raise wages for workers and supporting a robust economic recovery.
Related resource: “Service Contract Workers Deserve Good Jobs” by Karla Walter and Anastasia Christman
For more information or to speak to an expert, contact Julia Cusick at [email protected].