In February of 2014, President Obama signed Executive Order 13658, “Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors,” to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 as of January 1, 2015 for all workers on Federal construction and service contracts.
The minimum wage paid by Federal Contractors has been raised in each subsequent year since, standing at $10.15 as of January 1, 2016, and $10.20 per hour as of January 1, 2017.
On September 15, 2017, the DOL announced that on January 1, 2018 the Executive Order minimum wage rate that generally must be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase to $10.35 per hour.
Executive Order 13658 applies to new contracts and replacements for expiring contracts with the Federal Government that result from solicitations issued on or after January 1, 2015, or to contracts that are awarded outside the solicitation process on or after January 1, 2015.
Workers performing on or in connection with covered Federal contracts whose wages are governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the SCA, or the DBA are generally entitled to receive the Executive Order minimum wage for all time spent performing on or in connection with covered Federal contracts. The Executive Order therefore generally applies to the following categories of workers: (1) employees who are entitled to the FLSA minimum wage; (2) service employees who are entitled to prevailing wages under the SCA; and (3) laborers and mechanics who are entitled to prevailing wages under the DBA.