Before the increase to $12.15 the same executive order signed by President Obama required that the minimum be over $11. I’ve been at $10 for a year and there’s no sign of that changing.
I work for a large Professional Testing Company that has contracts with the Federal Government. I’m the only employee at my local center and I prepare testing materials, ensure exam security, proctor exams, and do general administrative work. Over a quarter of the exams are Federally regulated and the company website boasts about the number of Federal contracts they’ve acquired. I may be missing something so let me know if you can explain it. If it is true then I’d love any advice about how to use the information. Here’s some of what I’ve been reading.
In September 2022, the Department of Labor published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that, beginning January 1, 2023, the Executive Order 13658 minimum wage rate will increase from $11.25 to $12.15 per hour. This Executive Order minimum wage generally applies to workers performing work on or in connection with federal contracts that were entered into, renewed, or extended prior to January 30, 2022. It’s $15 an hour for newer contracts due to a similar EO from Biden.
The minimum wage protections apply to workers who directly perform the specific services called for by the contract’s terms, and the order specifically states that the rate increase applies to contracts under the Service Contract Labor Standards.
I found a copy of the rates list from a contract between the company and the federal government that began in 2020. It has these exact words included:
“The Service Contract Labor Standards, formerly the Service Contract Act (SCA), apply to this contract and it includes SCLS applicable labor categories.” The labor supply section went on to describe exactly what I do every day.
Then there’s this: “If the Wage and Hour Division determines that a contractor has violated the Executive Order, the Order provides authority to withhold contract funds to reimburse underpaid workers, terminate the contract, hold the contractor liable for associated costs to the government, and debar a contractor from future government contracts for a period of three years.” https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/government-contracts/minimum-wage/workers-with-disabilities/fact-sheet
More Info: pubhttps://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/government-contracts/minimum-wage