President Barack Obama is set to sign an executive order on Wednesday, effectively raising the minimum hourly wage of federal contract workers to $10.10, according to a press release.
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The White House touted how the order would “benefit hundreds of thousands of people” working on the federal contracts who are currently making less than $10.10.
The changes will become effective for brand-new and renewed contracts as of Jan. 1, 2015. It will also include provisions to make sure that tipped employees earn at least $10.10 with tips, requiring that employers pay at least $4.90 an hour. That amount will also increase by 95 cents per year until it reaches 70 percent of the regular minimum wage, and if the tips do not add up to at least $10.10, employers are required to make up the difference.
The order also covers workers with disabilities. Normally, if productivity is affected by disability, those workers could be paid less than those who do the same job under certain specialized certificate programs. With the signing of this order, all employees working under service or concessions contracts with the government must be paid the same $10.10.
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