Biden Signs Executive Order Granting Federal Workers $15 Minimum Wage & Labor Protections

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday that raises the minimum wage for federal workers to $15 per hour.

By the end of Biden’s first 100 days in office, federal employees and contractors will have to be paid a $15 minimum wage and be provided emergency paid leave.

The order simultaneously revokes three executive orders signed in 2018 by former President Donald Trump geared towards weakening labor rights for federal workers, including making it easier to terminate employment and restrict the power of their labor unions.

The order also effectively kills the Schedule F classification for certain federal civil service employees. Trump created the classification via executive order for roles that included “policy making decisions.” It was widely scrutinized for causing thousands of career employees to lose their civil service protections and politicizing certain civil positions.

Biden has also called for the national hourly minimum wage to be raised to $15 from $7.25. That move is currently included in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package he had proposed. It’s unclear if all the stipulations, including the hourly minimum, would be passed by Congress.