BlogLine
President Trump’s Executive Order 14236 revokes $15-per-hour federal contractor minimum wage
4/4/25
On March 14, 2025, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14236. This Executive Order revoked 18 prior executive orders and actions issued by former President Joe Biden. One of these prior executive orders was Executive Order 14026 that had set a $15-per-hour minimum wage rate for federal contractors in April 2021. President Trump’s Executive Order 14236 comes just 24-hours after the U.S. Department of Labor filed a brief stating that Executive Order 14026 was a valid exercise of presidential authority.
Former President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14026 set the minimum wages for workers performing work on or in connection with contracts covered under the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act; contracts covered under the Davis-Bacon Act; contracts in connection with federal property or lands and related to offering services for federal employees, their dependents, or the general public; and concession contracts. As of the date of President Trump’s Executive Order 14236, the applicable wage rate under Executive Order 14026 was $17.75-per-hour due to yearly adjustments.
Executive Order 14026 had been under attack since its issuance, specifically as to whether it was within the scope of presidential authority under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act. Several courts have attempted to address this question, however, they are split on whether it was within President Biden’s authority. Both the Fifth and Tenth Circuit Courts have held that Executive Order 14026 was within presidential authority and the Ninth Circuit has held that it was not. The United States Supreme Court declined to address this split in January 2025, resulting in the Fifth Circuit being asked to reconsider its prior decision in February 2025. In response, the U.S. Department of Labor opposed the rehearing on March 13, 2025, given that the Fifth Circuit unanimously held that Executive Order 14026 was directly within the President’s purview.
Notably, President Trump’s Executive Order 14236 does not attempt to address the existing basis for President Biden’s Executive Order 14026. Further, Executive Order 14236 does not address former President Barack Obama’s Executive Order 13658 from 2014. Executive Order 13658 initially set a federal contractor minimum wage of $13.30. Executive Order 14026 superseded Executive Order 13658, where inconsistent; however, Executive Order 13658 has remained applicable only to covered contracts that were entered into on or between January 1, 2015, and January 29, 2022, and which were not renewed or extended on or after January 30, 2022.
While Executive Order 14236 has revoked the $15-per-hour federal contractor minimum wage, it has left uncertainty for federal contractors and grant recipients. They are left with the extra steps of identifying what contracts are subject to federally specified minimum wages and waiting for notices from the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council or the contracting agency responsible for implementing the revocation of Executive Order 14026.
For more information on this topic, please contact Charles Shumake at charles.shumake@fmglaw.com or your local FMG attorney.
Share
Save Print