Today is the last day for all federal agencies to have ensured they have incorporated a $15 minimum wage in any of their new contract solicitations.

On April 27, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden had signed an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay $15 per hour for employees working on or in connection with a federal government contract. On November 22, 2021, Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh announced the final rule implementing the president’s order. In turn, on March 30, 2022, all federal agencies need to implement the minimum wage into new contracts.

Federal agencies are also directed to implement the higher wage into existing contracts when the parties exercise their option to extend such contracts. Contractors and subcontractors must certify they will meet this condition requiring the minimum wage. This certification is a condition of payment to the contractors from the government. The order applies, with certain exceptions, to any new contract; new contract-like instrument; new solicitation; extension or renewal of an existing contract or contract-like instrument; or exercise of an option on an existing contract or contract-like instrument.

This order does not apply to grants; contracts, contract-like instruments, or certain specific type of agreements with Indian Tribes.

Starting January 1, 2023, the minimum wage will be adjusted annually, but not lowered, by the U.S. secretary of labor based on a consumer price index formula and rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05. For tipped workers, the minimum wage mandated by the order is $10.50 per hour beginning January 30, 2022. Beginning January 1, 2023, tipped workers must receive 85% of the wage rate in effect for non-tipped employees, rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05.

Then beginning January 1, 2024, and for each subsequent year, tipped workers must receive 100% of the wage received by non-tipped worker, eliminating the difference between the type of workers. Adjustments must be considered by employers of tipped workers who do not receive a sufficient additional amount on account of tips to equal to the minimum wage of non-tipped workers. If a state or municipality has a higher minimum wage, the Executive Order does not excuse noncompliance with the laws requiring the higher wage.

On February 25, President Joe Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to Serve as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jackson will replace U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who is retiring from the bench upon confirmation of his replacement. Breyer, at 83, is currently the oldest member of the Court, serving since 1994 when he was appointed by President Bill Clinton.

Jackson, who was once a clerk for Justice Breyer, is currently on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She has previously served as a federal district court judge, a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, an attorney in private practice, and as a federal public defender.

Beginning January 30, 2022, all federal agencies are required to incorporate a $15 minimum wage in new contract solicitations. On April 27, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden had signed an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay $15 per hour for employees working on or in connection with a federal government contract. On November 22, 2021, Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh announced the final rule implementing the president’s order.

By March 30, 2022, all agencies will need to implement the minimum wage into new contracts. Federal agencies are also directed to implement the higher wage into existing contracts when the parties exercise their option to extend such contracts.

Contractors and subcontractors must certify they will meet this condition requiring the minimum wage. This certification is a condition of payment to the contractors from the government. The order applies, with certain exceptions, to any new contract; new contract-like instrument; new solicitation; extension or renewal of an existing contract or contract-like instrument; or exercise of an option on an existing contract or contract-like instrument. This order does not apply to grants; contracts, contract-like instruments, or certain specific type of agreements with Indian Tribes.

Starting January 1, 2023, the minimum wage will be adjusted annually, but not lowered, by the U.S. secretary of labor based on a consumer price index formula and rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05. For tipped workers, the minimum wage mandated by the order is $10.50 per hour beginning January 30, 2022. Beginning January 1, 2023, tipped workers must receive 85% of the wage rate in effect for non-tipped employees, rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05. Then beginning January 1, 2024, and for each subsequent year, tipped workers must receive 100% of the wage received by non-tipped worker, eliminating the difference between the type of workers. Adjustments must be considered by employers of tipped workers who do not receive a sufficient additional amount on account of tips to equal to the minimum wage of non-tipped workers. If a state or municipality has a higher minimum wage, the Executive Order does not excuse noncompliance with the laws requiring the higher wage.

On September 9, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed two executive orders dealing with COVID-19: one requiring mandatory vaccinations for all federal employees and another requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to do the same. Biden, in a televised speech about the orders, said the first executive order “will now require all executive branch federal employees to be vaccinated — all. And I’ve signed another executive order that will require federal contractors to do the same.”

The order concerning contractors requires executive departments and agencies, to the extent permitted by law, ensure that contracts and contract-like instruments include a clause that the contractor and any subcontractors (at any tier) must incorporate into lower-tier subcontracts. The clause must specify that a contractor or subcontractor must, for the duration of the contract, comply with all guidance for contractor or subcontractor workplace locations published by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force. By September 24, 2021, the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force will, as part of its issuance of Task Force Guidance, provide definitions of relevant terms for contractors and subcontractors, explanations of protocols required of contractors and subcontractors to comply with workplace safety guidance, and any exceptions to Task Force Guidance that apply to contractor and subcontractor workplace locations and individuals in those locations working on or in connection with a federal government contract.

With certain exceptions, this order applies to any new contract; new contract-like instrument; new solicitation for a contract or contract-like instrument; extension or renewal of an existing contract or contract-like instrument; and exercise of an option on an existing contract or contract-like instrument.

The order does not apply to grants, contracts or agreements with Indian Tribes under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, contracts or subcontracts whose value is equal to or less than the simplified acquisition threshold, employees who perform work outside the United States, and subcontracts solely for the provision of products.

The order states its purpose is “to promote economy and efficiency in procurement by contracting with sources that provide adequate COVID-19 safeguards for their workforce.”

The order is effective immediately and applies to new contracts exercised, on or after October 15, 2021, with some exceptions.

On January 20, President Joseph R. Biden signed an Executive Order mandating enhanced ethics rules for executive branch appointees. “Executive Order on Ethic Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel” requires new appointees sign and be contractually committed to the ethics pledge outlined in the order.

Appointees are prohibited from accepting gifts, with limited exceptions, from registered lobbyists and lobbying organizations for the duration of their service as appointees.

Appointees are also prohibited from participating in matters involving specific parties directly and substantially related to a former employer for two years after the date of appointment. Federal lobbyists and individuals registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act may not seek or accept employment with any executive agency with respect to which he or she lobbied within the two years before the date of the appointment. The order also prohibits certain golden parachutes from former employers and includes a general two-year prohibition on lobbying after leaving a position.

Covered appointees include every full-time, non-career Presidential or Vice-Presidential appointee, non-career appointees in the Senior Executive Service, and appointees to certain positions excepted from the competitive service. It does not include any person appointed as a member of the Senior Foreign Service or solely as a uniformed service commissioned officer.