Biden to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour for federal contractors

President Biden
(Image credit: Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images)

President Biden is set to sign an executive order to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors, the White House has announced.

Biden's order will require that federal contractors be paid a minimum of $15 an hour, an increase from $10.95 an hour, officials said. The order will set a deadline of Jan. 30, 2022 for agencies to incorporate this wage into new contract solicitations, according to the White House, as well as a deadline of March 30, 2022, to implement it into new contracts.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"As a result of raising the minimum wage, the federal government's work will be done better and faster," the White House said. "At the same time, the executive order ensures that hundreds of thousands of workers no longer have to work full time and still live in poverty."

This comes after an effort by Democrats to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour came to a halt in the Senate, CNN notes. The Senate parliamentarian in February ruled that Democrats could not include a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour in their COVID-19 relief package under budget reconciliation rules. The White House at the time said that Biden was "disappointed in this outcome," but "respects the parliamentarian's decision."

Explore More
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.