The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced it will issue final regulations to implement President Barack Obama’s Executive Order 13658, “Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors,” which was signed by the President on February 12, 2014. (For more on the EO, see our article, DOL Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Implement New $10.10 Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors.) The final regulations will require the payment of $10.10 per hour minimum wage beginning January 1, 2015, to covered employees working on many government contracts.

According to DOL, the final regulations will be published in the Federal Register on October 7, 2014. The minimum wage requirement will be applicable to new contracts and solicitations issued on or after January 15, 2015. 

The DOL, in a fact sheet, says that the final regulations make clear that the Executive Order minimum wage requirement applies to all contracts for construction covered by the Davis-Bacon Act, contracts for services covered by the Service Contract Act, concessions contracts (such as contracts to furnish food, lodging, automobile fuel, souvenirs, newspaper stands, and/or recreational equipment on federal property), and contracts to provide services (such as child care or dry cleaning) in federal buildings for Federal employees or the general public. 

Contracts subject only to the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (manufacturing or furnishing of materials, equipment or supplies) or to the Davis-Bacon Related Acts are not covered by the Executive Order minimum wage requirement.

According to the DOL, the final regulations also provide guidance for contractors on their obligations under the Executive Order, including the standards that contractors should apply to determine whether their workers are covered by the Executive Order, recordkeeping requirements, and where to find the required rate of pay for all workers, including tipped workers and workers with disabilities.

The last step in the implementation process lies with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (“FAR”) Council. The FAR must issue regulations to provide for the inclusion of a FAR clause implementing the new requirement in affected contracts within 60 days of issuance of the DOL’s final regulations.