Labor Law Updates

Does your company have active government contracts or receive federal funding? If so, you have special employee posting requirements. In addition to the mandatory posters you must display under federal and state law, you’re responsible for up to 12 additional posters at each of your locations. Plus, we’re expecting a few new posting changes to be issued in the coming months.

In the latest development with the federal contractor minimum wage, the Department of Labor finalized a five-cent increase over the previous year’s rate.

As previously reported, President Obama signed Executive Order 13658 establishing a minimum wage for federal contractors in February 2014. Effective January 1, 2015, the minimum hourly wage for workers on covered contractors was $10.10 an hour. As part of the Executive Order, however, the Secretary of Labor was authorized to make annual increases based on inflation.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has released a new “EEO is the Law” poster. Supplementing the already required Equal Employment Opportunity poster, the additional posting reflects a number of regulatory changes from the past several years.

September has been a busy month for regulatory and legal changes affecting federal contractors. In addition to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFFCP) releasing a supplemental “EEO is the Law” poster, President Obama recently issued Executive Order 13706 requiring federal contractors to provide paid sick leave.

As promised in his 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama has greenlighted a minimum wage increase for federal contract workers. The first step was the issuing of Executive Order 13658 – “Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors” – in mid-February. Nearly ten months later and after careful review of feedback from interested stakeholders, the Department of Labor announced a final rule raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour.