DOL Publishes 2017 Minimum Wage Rates For Federal Government Contractors

On September 20, 2016, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a notice, which can be found here, announcing the applicable minimum wage rate to be paid beginning on January 1, 2017, to workers performing work on or in connection with Federal contracts covered by Executive Order 13658.  

Executive Order 13658 established a methodology for setting and raising annually the hourly minimum wage paid by contractors to workers performing work on covered Federal contracts, including the minimum hourly cash wage that must be paid to tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts.

The applicable minimum wage is currently $10.15 per hour, and the applicable minimum cash wage that generally must be paid to tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts is currently $5.85 per hour. Beginning January 1, 2017, the minimum wage rate that generally must be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase to $10.20 per hour and the required minimum cash wage that generally must be paid to tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase to $6.80 per hour.