Federal contractor $17.75 minimum wage revoked

March 20, 2025

The requirement for federal contractors to pay workers at least $17.75 per hour has been revoked by an executive order (EO).

EO 14026, which applied to certain contracts signed after January 30, 2022, was rescinded by President Donald Trump on March 14 under the “Additional Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions” EO.

EO 14026 initially called for federal contractors to pay workers a minimum wage of $15 per hour. The wage increased each year according to inflation. It applied to:

Procurement contracts for construction covered by the Davis-Bacon and related acts;
Service contracts covered by the Service Contracts Act (SCA);
Concessions contracts, including any concessions contracts excluded from the SCA by the Department’s regulations at 29 CFR 4.133(b); and
Contracts in connection with federal property or lands and related to offering services for federal employees, their dependents, or the general public.

The most recent minimum wage increase required under EO 14026 took effect January 1.

What does the revocation of EO 14026 mean for employers?

The regulations for EO 14026 remain in place but are unlikely to be enforced. This means that employers that had been covered by the EO likely no longer need to pay the minimum wage it requires.

The regulations also call for employers to display a poster showing the current minimum wage required by the EO. It is possible that the regulations will be revised, and this will eliminate the EO 14026 posting requirement.

The poster had been updated annually to show a new inflation-adjusted rate, but these annual updates will not continue.

What should federal contractors do?

Covered federal contractors still need to follow any wage determinations called for in their contracts and follow federal, state, and local minimum wage laws.

In addition, the EO 13658 minimum wage remains in effect. Contractors covered by this EO must continue to pay a minimum wage of $13.30 per hour. This includes:

Contracts awarded between January 1, 2015, and January 29, 2022, that were not renewed or extended on or after January 30, 2022, and
Some procurement contracts entered into on or between January 30, 2022, and March 30, 2022.

Key to remember: Executive Order 14026, which required federal contractors to pay workers at least $17.75 per hour, has been rescinded. It is likely that this minimum wage requirement will no longer be enforced.

Publish Date

March 20, 2025

Author

Terri Dougherty

Type

Industry News

Industries

{not populated}