The Biden administration has raised the minimum wage for federal employees to $15 an hour, a move that lifts the pay of almost 70,000 workers, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
“Raising pay rates across the federal government to a minimum of $15 per hour reflects our appreciation for the federal workforce and our values as a nation,” Kiran Ahuja, Director of the Office of Personnel Management, said in the statement.
“As the largest employer in the country, how the federal government treats its workforce has real impact,” she added.
During his first week in the White House last year, President Joe Biden ordered the OPM to create a report outlining how a new federal minimum wage would work. According to Axios, the report found that “the majority of the 2.2 million federal employees are already earning at least $15 an hour.”
Still, Friday’s announcement, which goes into effect at the end of January, will increase the compensation of 50,000 Department of Defense employees working on military bases, 400 plant protection technicians, 3,800 custodial workers and approximately 130 wildland firefighters.
“This pay increase is an important step for the civilian men and women who support the military community and their families,” said Gilbert Cisneros, Defense Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough noted that “critical front-line employees” within his agency would be impacted, including “VA food service workers and housekeeping personnel.”
The U.S. Postal Service and Postal Regulatory Commission are not impacted by the new minimum pay guidelines, since they are legally outside of OPM’s authority.
Axios adds: “The guidance will also not affect employees that have an ‘extended work schedule.’ OPM said that over the next six months, it will be working to answer these employees’ compensation concerns.”
