DOL Issues Proposed Rule on Contractor Minimum Wages: What’s New?

Abrahams Wolf-Rodda – Earlier this year, President Biden issued an Executive Order (“EO 14026”) calling for the adoption of a new minimum wage of $15 per hour that must be paid to “workers performing on or in connection with covered contracts with the Federal Government.” We fully expect this to affect many, many contracts in the coming years because the $15 rate exceeds the prevailing wages for a number of employee classifications in federal contracts around the country. On July 21, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published proposed regulations in the Federal Register.