Ahead of 2021, the National Employment Labor Project (NELP) indicated that 74 jurisdictions (various cities, counties and states) were set to raise their minimum wages with 40 of those jurisdictions moving to $15 per hour or more. Meanwhile, the federal minimum wage hasn’t budged since 2009 and currently sits at $7.25; however, the U.S. Department of Labor recently outlined a rulemaking process to carry out President Biden’s order to increase the minimum wage for workers who fall under covered federal government contracts.
Beginning on January 30, 2022, those workers will see their hourly wages rise to $15 per hour or above. Other rulemaking points include the following: (1) Maintaining a forward-looking stance for raising this federal contract minimum wage in accordance with inflation; (2) Pinpointing 2024 as the target year to wipe out the tipped minimum wage for all federal contract workers.
