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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallThe $14 figure is not the current federal contractor minimum wage. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) says that, beginning May 11, 2026, covered non-tipped workers must receive at least $13.65 an hour, while covered tipped workers must receive at least $9.55 an hour under Executive Order 13658. Eligibility depends on the particular federal contract, the worker’s duties, the wage law that governs the job, and any applicable exemptions or higher wage requirement.
Working for a company that has a federal customer is not enough by itself. The contract must fall within a covered category, and the employee must perform work “on” or “in connection with” that contract while covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Service Contract Act (SCA), or the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA), subject to limited exclusions.
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The current federal contractor wage and what happened to the $14 figure
DOL’s 2026 update under Executive Order 13658 sets the applicable floor at $13.65 per hour for non-tipped workers and $9.55 per hour for tipped workers. Those rates apply beginning May 11, 2026, when the contract and worker satisfy the order’s coverage rules.
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| Worker category | Minimum under the 2026 EO 13658 update | Effective date |
|---|---|---|
| Covered non-tipped worker | $13.65 per hour | May 11, 2026 |
| Covered tipped worker | $9.55 per hour | May 11, 2026 |
The frequently quoted $14 amount is therefore not the current DOL figure. Nor should current articles automatically use the former $15 rate associated with Executive Order 14026. President Trump’s Executive Order 14236 revoked EO 14026 on March 14, 2025. DOL states that it no longer enforces EO 14026 or its implementing regulation, 29 CFR part 23. Whether an older contract has additional obligations can depend on its award, renewal or extension dates and the clauses written into that contract, so the contract documents still matter.
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If another applicable law requires more than the executive-order floor, the higher amount controls. A state or local minimum wage, another federal requirement, or a contract-specific wage determination can all produce a higher paycheck.
Which federal contracts are covered?
EO 13658 coverage is tied to the kind of federal instrument involved. DOL identifies these general categories:
| Contract or arrangement | Typical work covered | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Federal procurement construction contracts covered by the DBA | Construction labor and mechanical work on a covered federal project | The project and worker must fall within DBA coverage. |
| Federal service contracts covered by the SCA | Contracted services such as operations, maintenance, security, food service or custodial work | The service contract must be one to which the SCA applies. |
| Concessions contracts | Businesses operating concessions on federal property | The concession arrangement must meet the order’s coverage rules. |
| Certain contracts or leases involving federal property or land | Services offered to federal employees, their dependents or the public on or in connection with federal property | Not every federal-property lease qualifies; the services and contract terms must fit the covered category. |
A contractor’s federal customer, logo or government-facing business card does not establish coverage. A company may perform one covered contract and several private contracts, and a worker may spend only part of a week on the covered work. The analysis has to be made for the specific contract and the specific work performed.
Which workers can qualify?
Workers governed by the FLSA, SCA or DBA
DOL’s general test covers three principal groups:
- FLSA-covered employees who perform qualifying work on or in connection with the covered contract.
- SCA service employees working under a covered federal service contract.
- DBA laborers and mechanics performing construction work on or in connection with a covered federal construction contract.
Workers whose pay is calculated under an FLSA section 14(c) certificate are included. A 14(c) certificate permits a qualifying employer to pay a productivity-based special minimum wage to certain workers with disabilities; it does not, by itself, remove a covered worker from EO 13658 protection.
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“On” the contract versus “in connection with” it
“On” means directly performing the service or construction the contract calls for. A mechanic repairing vehicles required by a federal service contract, a cleaner assigned to the contracted facility, or a laborer building the specified federal structure is doing work on the contract.
“In connection with” reaches necessary supporting work even when the employee does not perform the contract’s main service. Examples can include scheduling, dispatch, material handling, inspection support or other duties needed to deliver the contracted result. The connection must be real and tied to performance, not merely a general corporate role at a company that happens to have a federal customer.
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For an FLSA-covered employee whose only qualifying activity is supporting work in connection with a covered contract, DOL’s regulations exclude the employee when that supporting work is less than 20 percent of the employee’s hours in a particular workweek. The calculation is week by week, so a worker’s status can change when assignments change.
The 20-percent threshold is not a blanket rule that disqualifies anyone who spends less than one-fifth of the week on a contract. DOL distinguishes supporting work from work directly required by the contract. An employee directly performing the contracted service or construction is not converted into a noncovered worker simply because other duties occupy much of the week. Employers need to identify the actual duties and hours rather than apply the percentage mechanically.
Who is excluded or treated differently?
The exclusions are limited and fact-specific. Common examples identified by DOL include:
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- Bona fide executive, administrative and professional employees who are exempt from the FLSA’s minimum-wage requirements.
- Learners, apprentices, messengers and full-time students employed under specified FLSA section 14(a) or 14(b) certificates.
- FLSA-covered supporting workers whose supporting duties connected to the contract account for less than 20 percent of their hours in the relevant workweek, when the employee is not directly performing work required by the contract.
An employee’s job title is not decisive. Calling someone a “manager,” “trainee” or “assistant” does not create an exemption if the legal requirements are not met. Conversely, an employee who genuinely satisfies an FLSA exemption may fall outside the executive-order minimum-wage requirement even while working for a covered contractor.
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Workers covered through section 14(c) certificates are a different case: DOL expressly includes them. The existence of a certificate should not be treated as an automatic exclusion.
How to determine whether a particular worker qualifies
Use the following sequence for an individual employee or assignment:
- Identify the federal instrument. Obtain the contract number, statement of work, solicitation or award documents, and any amendments. Determine whether it is a DBA construction contract, SCA service contract, covered concession, or qualifying federal-property or federal-land arrangement.
- Check the contract’s dates and clauses. Confirm the award, renewal or extension dates and read the labor-standard clauses. The current EO 13658 framework is not interchangeable with the revoked EO 14026 framework.
- Identify the worker’s governing wage law. Establish whether the employee is covered by the FLSA, SCA or DBA. For SCA and DBA work, review the wage determination attached to the contract.
- Map the employee’s duties. Separate hours spent directly performing the contracted service or construction from hours spent on necessary supporting work and from unrelated private work.
- Apply the supporting-work threshold when appropriate. If the employee is FLSA-covered and performs only supporting work in connection with the contract, calculate whether that work reaches 20 percent of the hours in the specific workweek. Do not use this test to discount direct contract work.
- Check for an applicable exclusion. Verify any FLSA executive, administrative or professional exemption, or a qualifying section 14(a) or 14(b) certificate. Check the facts, not just the title on a timesheet.
- Compare all potentially higher wage floors. Review state and local law, federal requirements, contract clauses and the applicable SCA or DBA wage determination. Pay the higher amount when more than one rule applies.
Examples of how the rules work
Direct service employee
A janitor assigned to clean a federal facility under a covered SCA contract is directly delivering the contracted service. If the worker is not exempt and the contract is covered, the EO 13658 floor applies from the effective date, subject to any higher SCA wage determination or other law.
Federal-project construction worker
A laborer installing materials on a covered federal construction project is performing work on the contract. The employer’s general private business does not change the result; the project, DBA coverage and the employee’s actual construction duties are the relevant facts.
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Support employee below 20 percent
An FLSA-covered scheduler spends 12 percent of a workweek arranging logistics needed for a covered federal service contract and the remainder on unrelated commercial accounts. If the scheduler performs no direct contract service and the supporting work remains below 20 percent for that week, the regulatory exclusion may apply.
Support employee at or above 20 percent
A dispatcher spends 28 percent of the week coordinating crews and deliveries necessary to a covered contract. That supporting work reaches the threshold, so the employee cannot rely on the less-than-20-percent exclusion. The employer must still examine the other coverage and exemption requirements.
Exempt professional
An employee who genuinely meets the FLSA professional exemption may be excluded even when assigned to a covered contractor. A professional title alone is insufficient; the duties and pay basis must satisfy the FLSA test.
Higher state minimum
A covered worker in a jurisdiction with a legally required minimum above the EO 13658 amount must receive the higher jurisdictional rate. The executive-order figure is a floor, not a ceiling.
What documents should an employee or contractor review?
Coverage often cannot be resolved from a pay stub alone. Gather:
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- The contract, task order, solicitation, statement of work and amendments.
- The contract’s labor-standard clauses and any SCA or DBA wage determination.
- Payroll records showing the hourly rate, tips, overtime and deductions.
- Time records identifying hours on the contract, supporting hours and unrelated assignments.
- Job descriptions, schedules, work orders and supervisor instructions showing what the employee actually did.
- Any FLSA exemption documentation or section 14(a), 14(b) or 14(c) certificate relevant to the worker.
Employees can ask payroll or human resources which contract clause and wage determination the employer used. Contractors should preserve the same records because a general statement that the company “does federal work” does not demonstrate compliance.
Common mistakes when applying the federal contractor wage
- Using the headline number without checking the date. The $14 figure is not the current DOL update, and the former $15 EO 14026 rate is not generally enforceable under the revoked order.
- Assuming every employee of a federal contractor is covered. Coverage follows the contract and the employee’s work, not the employer’s entire payroll.
- Applying the 20-percent rule to direct work. The threshold concerns certain supporting work; it does not erase coverage for an employee directly performing the contracted service or construction.
- Treating a job title as an exemption. The duties and applicable FLSA test control.
- Ignoring wage determinations. An SCA or DBA determination may require more than the executive-order floor.
- Overlooking a higher state or local rate. The higher legally required amount must be paid.
If you think the wage was not paid
Start by documenting the contract assignment, dates, hours, rate actually paid and the duties performed. Request the applicable wage determination and labor-standard clause from the employer in writing. Compare the records with the contract and with the law that governs the work.
If the issue is not resolved, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division is the federal agency that administers and investigates these wage requirements. A worker can provide the agency with pay records, time records, contract information and a description of the duties. Contractors should obtain advice from qualified labor counsel when contract coverage, exemptions or overlapping wage laws are disputed.
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There is no universal “$14 federal contractor” category. In 2026, the DOL’s EO 13658 floor is $13.65 for covered non-tipped workers and $9.55 for covered tipped workers, effective May 11. A worker qualifies only when the particular federal contract is covered, the worker performs work on or sufficiently connected to it, the FLSA, SCA or DBA governs the job, and no valid exclusion applies. The contract’s dates and clauses, the employee’s actual weekly duties, and any higher wage requirement determine the result.
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