66906 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2023 / Notices 

1Based on an order issued by the U.S. Court of 

Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on February 17, 2022, 

the minimum wage requirements of the final rule 

implementing Executive Order 14026 are not 

currently being enforced as to ‘‘contracts or 

contract-like instruments entered into with the 

federal government in connection with seasonal 

recreational services or seasonal recreational 

equipment rental for the general public on federal 

lands.’’ The final rule’s requirements remain in 

effect for all other contracts subject to the rule. 

[FR Doc. 2023–21114 Filed 9–27–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–27–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Wage and Hour Division 

Minimum Wage for Federal Contracts 

Covered by Executive Order 14026, 

Notice of Rate Change in Effect as of 

January 1, 2024 

AGENCY: Wage and Hour Division, 

Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Wage and Hour Division 

(WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor 

(the Department) is issuing this notice to 

announce the applicable minimum 

wage rate for workers performing work 

on or in connection with federal 

contracts covered by Executive Order 

14026, Increasing the Minimum Wage 

for Federal Contractors (the Executive 

Order or the order). Beginning on 

January 1, 2024, the Executive Order 

14026 minimum wage rate that 

generally must be paid to workers 

performing work on or in connection 

with covered contracts will increase to 

$17.20 per hour. This minimum wage 

rate will apply to non-tipped and tipped 

employees alike, as, beginning January 

1, 2024, Executive Order 14026 

eliminates the lower cash wage that 

contractors may pay tipped employees. 

Contracts similar to those covered by 

Executive Order 14026 that were 

entered into, renewed, or extended prior 

to January 30, 2022, are generally 

subject to a lower minimum wage rate 

established by Executive Order 13658 of 

February 12, 2014, Establishing a 

Minimum Wage for Contractors. 

DATES: These new Executive Order 

14026 wage rates shall take effect on 

January 1, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy DeBisschop, Director, Division of 

Regulations, Legislation, and 

Interpretation, Wage and Hour Division, 

U.S. Department of Labor, Room S– 

3502, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, 

Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 

693–0406 (this is not a toll-free 

number). Alternative formats are 

available upon request by calling 1– 

866–487–9243. If you are deaf, hard of 

hearing, or have a speech disability, 

please dial 7–1–1 to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Executive Order 14026 Background 

and Requirements for Determining 

Annual Increases to the Minimum 

Wage Rate 

On April 27, 2021, President Joseph 

R. Biden, Jr. signed Executive Order 

14026, ‘‘Increasing the Minimum Wage 

for Federal Contractors.’’ 86 FR 22835. 

In relevant part, Executive Order 14026 

raised the hourly minimum wage paid 

by federal contractors to workers 

performing work on or in connection 

with certain covered Federal contracts 

to $15.00 per hour, beginning January 

30, 2022, with annual adjustments for 

inflation thereafter in amounts 

determined by the Secretary of Labor. 

Id. 

Executive Order 14026 directed the 

Secretary to issue regulations to 

implement the order’s requirements. See 

86 FR 22836. Accordingly, after 

engaging in notice-and-comment 

rulemaking, the Department published a 

final rule on November 24, 2021, 

implementing Executive Order 14026. 

See 86 FR 67126. The final regulations, 

set forth at 29 CFR part 23, established 

standards and procedures for 

implementing and enforcing the 

minimum wage protections of Executive 

Order 14026.1

Executive Order 14026 and its 

implementing regulations require the 

Secretary to determine the applicable 

minimum wage rate for workers 

performing work on or in connection 

with covered contracts on an annual 

basis, beginning January 1, 2023. See 86 

FR 22835–36; see also 29 CFR 

23.10(b)(2), 23.50(a)(2), 23.120(a). 

Sections 2(a) and (b) of Executive Order 

14026 establish the methodology that 

the Secretary must use to determine the 

annual inflation-based increases to the 

minimum wage rate. See 86 FR 22835– 

36. These provisions, which are 

implemented in 29 CFR 23.50(b)(2), 

explain that the applicable minimum 

wage determined by the Secretary for 

each calendar year shall be: 

• Not less than the amount in effect 

on the date of such determination; 

• Increased from such amount by the 

annual percentage increase in the 

Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage 

Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI–W) 

(United States city average, all items, 

not seasonally adjusted), or its successor 

publication, as determined by the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); and 

• Rounded to the nearest multiple of 

$0.05. 

Section 2(b) of Executive Order 14026 

further provides that, in calculating the 

annual percentage increase in the CPI– 

W for purposes of determining the new 

minimum wage rate, the Secretary shall 

compare such CPI–W for the most 

recent month, quarter, or year available 

(as selected by the Secretary prior to the 

first year for which a minimum wage is 

in effect) with the CPI–W for the same 

month in the preceding year, the same 

quarter in the preceding year, or the 

preceding year, respectively. See 86 FR 

22835–36. To calculate the annual 

percentage increase in the CPI–W, the 

Department elected in its final rule 

implementing Executive Order 14026 to 

compare such CPI–W for the most 

recent year available with the CPI–W for 

the preceding year. See 29 CFR 

23.50(b)(2)(iii). Consistent with the 

regulations implementing Executive 

Order 13658, see 29 CFR 10.5, the 

Department explained that it decided to 

compare the CPI–W for the most recent 

year available (instead of using the most 

recent month or quarter, as allowed by 

the order) with the CPI–W for the 

preceding year, ‘‘to minimize the impact 

of seasonal fluctuations on the 

Executive order minimum wage rate.’’ 

86 FR 67167. 

Once a determination has been made 

with respect to the new minimum wage 

rate, Executive Order 14026 and its 

implementing regulations require the 

Secretary to notify the public of the 

applicable minimum wage rate on an 

annual basis at least 90 days before any 

new minimum wage takes effect. See 86 

FR 22835; 29 CFR 23.50(a)(2), 

23.120(c)(1). The regulations explain 

that the Administrator of the 

Department’s Wage and Hour Division 

(the Administrator) will publish an 

annual notice in the Federal Register 

stating the applicable minimum wage 

rate at least 90 days before any new 

minimum wage takes effect. See 29 CFR 

23.120(c)(2)(i). Additionally, the 

regulations state that the Administrator 

will provide notice of the Executive 

Order minimum wage rate on https://

sam.gov/content/wage-determinations, 

or any successor site; on all wage 

determinations issued under the DavisBacon Act (DBA), 40 U.S.C. 3141 et seq., 

and the Service Contract Act (SCA), 41 

U.S.C. 6701 et seq.; and by other means 

the Administrator deems appropriate. 

See 29 CFR 23.120(c)(2)(ii)–(iv). 

Section 3 of Executive Order 14026 

explains the application of the order to 

tipped workers. 86 FR 22836. It 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 187 / Thursday, September 28, 2023 / Notices 66907 

2Contracts of the same kind as are covered by 

Executive Order 14026 and that were entered into, 

renewed, or extended prior to January 30, 2022, are 

generally subject to Executive Order 13658 and its 

lower minimum wage requirements. The Executive 

Order 13658 minimum wage and the cash wage 

required for tipped employees are currently $12.15 

and $8.50 per hour, respectively. See 87 FR 59468. 

3 In 1988, the reference base for the CPI–W was 

changed from 1967 = 100 to 1982–84 = 100. The 

1982–84 period was chosen to coincide with the 

updated expenditure weights which were based on 

the Consumer Expenditure Surveys for the years 

1982, 1983 and 1984. 

provides that for workers covered by 

section 2 of the order who are tipped 

employees pursuant to section 3(t) of 

the FLSA, 29 U.S.C. 203(t), the cash 

wage that must be paid by an employer 

to such workers shall be at least: (i) 

$10.50 an hour, beginning on January 

30, 2022; (ii) beginning January 1, 2023, 

85 percent of the wage in effect under 

section 2 of the order, rounded to the 

nearest multiple of $0.05; and (iii) 

beginning January 1, 2024, and for each 

subsequent year, 100 percent of the 

wage in effect under section 2 of the 

order. 86 FR 22836. Consistent with 

applicable law, if the wage required to 

be paid under the SCA, 41 U.S.C. 6701 

et seq., or any other applicable law or 

regulation is higher than the wage 

required by section 2 of the order, the 

employer must pay additional cash 

wages sufficient to meet the highest 

wage required to be paid. 86 FR 22836. 

The Executive Order 14026 minimum 

wage and the cash wage required for 

tipped employees are currently $16.20 

and $13.75 per hour, respectively.2 The 

Department announced these rates on 

September 30, 2022, and the rates took 

effect on January 1, 2023. 87 FR 59464. 

II. The 2024 Executive Order 14026 

Minimum Wage Rate 

Using the methodology set forth in 

Executive Order 14026 and summarized 

above, the Department must first 

determine the annual percentage 

increase in the CPI–W (United States 

city average, all items, not seasonally 

adjusted), as published by BLS, to 

determine the new Executive Order 

14026 minimum wage rate. In 

calculating the annual percentage 

increase in the CPI–W, the Department 

must compare the CPI–W for the most 

recent year available with the CPI–W for 

the preceding year. The Department 

therefore compares the percentage 

change in the CPI–W between the most 

recent year (i.e., the most recent four 

quarters) and the prior year (i.e., the four 

quarters preceding the most recent 

year). The Department then increases 

the current Executive Order minimum 

wage rate by the resulting annual 

percentage change and rounds to the 

nearest multiple of $0.05. 

To determine the Executive Order 

14026 minimum wage rate beginning 

January 1, 2024, the Department 

therefore calculated the CPI–W for the 

most recent year by averaging the CPI– 

W for the four most recent quarters, 

which consist of the first two quarters 

of 2023 and the last two quarters of 2022 

(i.e., July 2022 through June 2023). This 

produced an average index level of 

294.367.3 The Department then 

compared that data to the average CPI– 

W for the preceding year—277.278— 

which consists of the first two quarters 

of 2022 and the last two quarters of 2021 

(i.e., July 2021 through June 2022). 

Based on this methodology, the 

Department determined that the annual 

percentage increase in the CPI–W 

(United States city average, all items, 

not seasonally adjusted) was 6.163 

percent ((294.367 ÷ 277.278) ¥1). The 

Department then applied that annual 

percentage increase of 6.163 percent to 

the current Executive Order 14026 

minimum wage ($16.20 per hour), 

which resulted in an hourly wage rate 

of $17.198 (($16.20 × 0.06163) + $16.20); 

however, pursuant to Executive Order 

14026, the updated minimum wage rate 

must be rounded to the nearest multiple 

of $0.05. 

Accordingly, effective January 1, 

2024, the new minimum wage rate that 

must generally be paid to workers 

performing on or in connection with 

contracts covered by Executive Order 

14026 will be $17.20 per hour. 

III. Phase-Out of the Minimum Cash 

Wage for Tipped Employees 

As noted above, section 3 of Executive 

Order 14026 provides a methodology to 

determine the amount of the minimum 

hourly cash wage that must be paid to 

tipped employees performing on or in 

connection with covered contracts. In 

relevant part, section 3(a)(ii) of the 

Executive order specifies that, for 

calendar year 2024, the minimum 

hourly cash wage for tipped employees 

shall increase to 100 percent of the wage 

in effect under section 2 of the order. 

See 86 FR 22836; see also 29 CFR 

23.280(a)(1)(iii). This means that, 

beginning on January 1, 2024, 

contractors may no longer credit 

employee tips toward the Executive 

Order 14026 minimum wage, and 

tipped employees covered by Executive 

Order 14026 will be entitled to a cash 

wage of at least $17.20 per hour. 

IV. Appendices 

Appendix A to this notice provides a 

chart of the CPI–W data published by 

BLS that the Department used to 

calculate the new Executive Order 

14026 minimum wage rate based on the 

methodology explained herein. A poster 

reflecting the new Executive Order 

14026 minimum wage rate will be 

publicly available on the WHD website 

on January 1, 2024. 

Julie A. Su, 

Acting Secretary of Labor. 

Appendix A: Data Used to Determine 

Executive Order 14026 Minimum Wage 

Rate Effective January 1, 2024 

Data Source: Consumer Price Index for 

Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers 

(CPI–W) (United States city average, all 

items, not seasonally adjusted) 

Quarter 3 Quarter 4 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Annual 

average 

2021Q3 to 2022Q2 267.789 268.387 269.086 271.552 273.042 273.925 276.296 278.943 283.176 284.575 288.022 292.542 277.278 

2022Q3 to 2023Q2 292.219 291.629 291.854 293.003 292.495 291.051 293.565 295.057 296.021 297.730 298.382 299.394 294.367 

Annual Percentage 

Increase ............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. .............. 6.163% 

[FR Doc. 2023–21115 Filed 9–27–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–27–P 

NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY 

Sunshine Act Meetings 

TIME AND DATE: The Members of the 

National Council on Disability (NCD) 

will hold a two-day in-person Council 

meeting on Thursday, November 16, 

2023, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard 

Time (EST) and Friday, November 17, 

2023, 10 a.m.–1:15 p.m., EST. 

PLACE: This meeting will take place at 

the Omni Hotel and Resort, One West 


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