After years of litigation surrounding executive orders establishing a minimum wage for federal contractors, on March 14, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order revoking Executive Order (EO) 14026 issued by former President Biden on April 27, 2021 (Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors). EO 14026 set the minimum wage for workers on covered federal contracts, entered into on or after the date, to $15.00 per hours. That minimum wage has since increased to $17.75.
Now that the higher minimum wage for federal contractors no longer applies, the question remains: What is the current minimum wage for workers performing work on federal contracts previously covered by EO 14206? President Obama issued EO 13658 on February 12, 2014 (Establishing a Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors), which set a minimum wage of $10.10 for contracts and subcontracts entered into or modified on or after January 1, 2015, involving construction covered by the Davis-Bacon Act, services covered by the Service Contract Act, concessions or connected with federal property or lands, and related to services offered for federal employees, their dependents, or the general public. The minimum wage under EO 13658 has since increased to $13.30 per hour (with a lower rate of $9.30 for tipped employees). With the elimination of the increased minimum wage for the same contracts established by EO 14026, the current federal minimum wage for workers performing services on covered federal contracts and subcontracts entered into on or after January 30, 2022 (the effective date of the increases under EO 14026) may now be $13.30 (the Obama-established rate). Alternatively, because EO 14026 superseded EO 13658 as of January 30, 2022, the standard federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour may apply to such contracts.
We anticipate further guidance from the Department of Labor. Until then, if you are paying workers on federal contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2015, less than $13.30 per hour, you may want to seek legal counsel regarding next steps.
