WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is preparing to sign an executive order to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour for federal contractors. Administration officials say the order will provide a pay bump to hundreds of thousands of those workers, including nursing assistants and laborers. They say workers will become more productive as a result, so the increase should not be costly to taxpayers. The increase to be approved under Tuesday’s executive order could be dramatic for workers who earn the current minimum of $10.95 an hour. Those workers would receive a 37% pay hike, though the increase would be rolled out gradually.
Photo: FILE – In this Feb. 24, 2021, file photo, President Joe Biden pauses after signing an executive order relating to U.S. supply chains, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. Biden is preparing to sign an executive order to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour for federal contractors. Administration officials say it will provide a pay bump to hundreds of thousands. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
