Biden executive order takes steps to require federal contractors pay $15 minimum wage

[groundloop]

Source: ABC News

President Joe Biden plans to sign a pair of executive orders Friday aimed at expanding food assistance for tens of millions of Americans and launching a process that will require federal contractors to pay their workers a $15 minimum wage and provide emergency paid leave.

The moves come on Biden's second full day in office, and continue a string of executive actions he's taken to jumpstart his agenda and set the tone for his administration amid a COVID-19 pandemic that has left families struggling economically.

(snip)

Biden plans to sign an executive order that will expand protections for federal workers, including putting federal agencies on a path to require a $15 minimum wage for contractors.

But that minimum wage won't come right away. Instead, Biden plans to direct the federal government "to start the work that would allow him to issue" an order "within the first 100 days" that would require federal contractors to pay at least $15 per hour, according to the White House.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-executive-order-takes-steps-require-federal-contractors/story?id=75414753&cid=clicksource_4380645_7_heads_hero_live_hero_hed

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The executive action, when it happens, will also provide emergency paid leave to workers. PRESIDENT Biden also plans to restore collective bargaining rights to those workers who lost those rights through an executive order by the former occupant of the White House.

[radical noodle]

1. I wonder when they stopped having payroll minimums?

I retired 8 years ago and at that time there were still requirements for federal contractors to pay wages that were actually, in many cases, much higher than $15 per hour, with benefits also required or paid directly to the worker. There were forms that had to be submitted with payment requests.

[Lochloosa]

2. It's called Certified Payrolls. Any federal project requires them.

The problem are the wage rates are based on the prevailing wage in the area. Great for NE US jobs and California, but the prevailing wages in the South suck.

[radical noodle]

3. Yes, prevailing wage and certified payrolls

I was in Indiana, and the rates were based on union wages at the time, which were very high. I worked for union companies, so our payrolls were right in line with what we already paid. Much higher than $15, and more like $25 before benefits.