Increase to $15 per hour will be effective by next March.
On Tuesday, President Biden issued an executive order that raises pay rates to $15 per hour minimum. His actions will affect hundreds of thousands of federal contract workers, according to White House officials.
The move will be effective by March of next year, increasing the current minimum of $10.50 by 30 percent. Increases are expected to continue into the future as inflation rates rise.
Federal contract workers include cleaning and maintenance staff, food service contractors, healthcare workers, and others whose jobs were previously left out of the last increase under former President Obama.
The president tried to insert a federal $15 minimum wage into the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package signed in March, but it was not allowed under procedures of the Senate by that body’s parliamentarian.
Those opposed to the president’s action suggest it could result in reduced employment, requiring greater productivity from fewer personnel.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the president and his administration to seek God’s guidance as they make foreign and domestic policy.
- For the businesses with federal contracts as they plan for the minimum wage increase for their employees.
- For those who remain unemployed while the nation recovers from the coronavirus lockdowns.
Sources: Reuters, Business Week
