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An estimated 300,000 federal contract workers are set to receive a long overdue wage increase, after an executive order President Joe Biden signed last year went into effect Sunday (January 30).
Contract workers across all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, America Samoa, and more will now make $15 an hour, the Department of Labor announced Monday (January 31).
The historic and "fair" wage increase comes after Biden's Minimum Wage Executive Order, signed April 27, 2021, was officially adopted by the Department of Labor this month.
According to the Department, hundreds of thousands of workers will receive an average of $5,226 more each year. The increase applies to construction workers, child care workers, and other service workers employed on federal contracts.
Around 54% of the workers receiving the wage increase are women and 25% are people of color, a statement from the DOL notes.
"Progress and the well-being of working families requires an economy that works for everyone," the DOL said, adding that the wage increase "demonstrates that government can lead by example."
In addition to the minimum wage going up the newly-adopted policy will ensure that there's an annual adjustment to the minimum wage.
Workers with disabilities who might otherwise receive less than minimum wage will also receive a wage increase, and wage protections are restored for workers who "provide recreational services on federal lands."
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