Notice2026-02466
Minimum Wage for Federal Contracts Covered by Executive Order 13658, Notice of Rate Change in Effect
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Published
February 9, 2026
Effective
May 11, 2026
Issuing agencies
Labor DepartmentWage and Hour Division
Abstract
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 13658, Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors (the Executive Order or the order), beginning May 11, 2026. The rates announced in this notice apply to certain types of federal contracts entered into between January 1, 2015, and January 29, 2022, that were not renewed or extended (pursuant to an exercised option or otherwise) on or after January 30, 2022. Beginning on May 11, 2026, the Executive Order 13658 minimum wage rate that generally must be paid to workers performing work on or in connection with contracts covered by Executive Order 13658 will increase to $13.65 per hour, while the required minimum cash wage that generally must be paid to tipped employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts will increase to $9.55 per hour.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 26 (Monday, February 9, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 26 (Monday, February 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5783-5785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-02466]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Wage and Hour Division
Minimum Wage for Federal Contracts Covered by Executive Order
13658, Notice of Rate Change in Effect
AGENCY: Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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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 13658,
Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors (the Executive Order or the
order), beginning May 11, 2026. The rates announced in this notice
apply to certain types of federal contracts entered into between
January 1, 2015, and January 29, 2022, that were not renewed or
extended (pursuant to an exercised option or otherwise) on or after
January 30, 2022. Beginning on May 11, 2026, the Executive Order 13658
minimum wage rate that generally must be paid to workers performing
work on or in connection with contracts covered by
[[Page 5784]]
Executive Order 13658 will increase to $13.65 per hour, while the
required minimum cash wage that generally must be paid to tipped
employees performing work on or in connection with covered contracts
will increase to $9.55 per hour.
DATES: These new Executive Order 13658 rates shall take effect on May
11, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Navarrete, 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 13658 Background
On February 12, 2014, the President signed Executive Order 13658,
establishing an hourly minimum wage for workers performing work on or
in connection with covered federal contracts of $10.10 per hour,
beginning January 1, 2015, with annual adjustments thereafter in an
amount determined by the Secretary pursuant to the order. See 79 FR
9851. The Executive Order directed the Secretary to issue regulations
to implement the order's requirements, and the Secretary delegated
authority to promulgate these regulations to the Administrator of the
WHD. See 79 FR 9852; see also Secretary's Order 05-2010 (Sept. 2,
2010), 75 FR 55352 (published Sept. 10, 2010).\1\ Accordingly, after
engaging in notice-and-comment rulemaking, the Department published a
final rule on October 7, 2014, to implement the Executive Order. See 79
FR 60634. The final regulations, set forth at 29 CFR part 10,
established standards and procedures for implementing and enforcing the
minimum wage protections of the order.
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\1\ Secretary's Order 05-2010 has been superseded by Secretary's
Order 01-2014 (Dec. 19, 2014), 79 FR 77527 (published Dec. 24,
2014). Secretary's Order 01-2014 delegates authority and assigns
responsibility, including enforcement authority, to the WHD
Administrator on matters pertaining to Executive Order 13658.
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On May 25, 2018, the President signed Executive Order 13838,
``Exemption from Executive Order 13658 for Recreational Services on
Federal Lands.'' 83 FR 25341. Executive Order 13838 amended Executive
Order 13658 so as not to ``apply 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,'' including ``river
running, hunting, fishing, horseback riding, camping, mountaineering
activities, recreational ski services, and youth camps,'' with the
proviso that the exemption did ``not apply to lodging and food services
associated with seasonal recreational services.'' Id. The Executive
Order directed the Secretary to issue regulations to implement the
exception. Id. Accordingly, the Department implemented Executive Order
13838 through a final rule. 83 FR 48537.
On April 27, 2021, the President signed Executive Order 14026,
``Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors.'' 86 FR 22835.
Executive Order 14026 established a higher hourly minimum wage of
$15.00 per hour, beginning on January 30, 2022, for the same types of
contracts with the Federal Government that are covered by Executive
Order 13658, and provided for annual inflation-based adjustments
thereafter. Executive Order 14026 superseded Executive Order 13658 ``to
the extent it is inconsistent with [E.O. 14026]'' and applied to
contracts with the Federal Government entered on or after January 30,
2022, or that were renewed or extended (pursuant to an exercised option
or otherwise) on or after January 30, 2022. 86 FR 22837. Executive
Order 14026 also revoked Executive Order 13838 as of January 30, 2022.
On March 14, 2025, the President revoked Executive Order 14026 in
section 2(d) of Executive Order 14236, ``Additional Rescissions of
Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.'' 90 FR 13037.
At this time, Executive Order 13658 remains in effect and generally
applies to contracts subject to the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA), 40 U.S.C.
3141 et seq., and the Service Contract Act (SCA), 41 U.S.C. 6701 et
seq., awarded between January 1, 2015, and January 29, 2022, and not
renewed or extended on or after January 30, 2022. As a result, this
notice updates the wage rate applicable pursuant to that order. And
although the number of contracts subject to Executive Order 13658 has
significantly decreased over the past several years, the Department
anticipates that there will be some existing contracts with the Federal
Government that would not have qualified as a covered ``new contract''
for purposes of Executive Order 14026 and that remain subject to the
minimum wage requirements of Executive Order 13658. Executive Order
13658 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, 2016. See 79 FR 9851; 29 CFR 10.1(a)(2),
10.5(a)(2), 10.12(a). Accordingly, the Department is announcing the
2026 annual update to Executive Order 13658's minimum wage rates.
II. Requirements for Determining Annual Increases to the Minimum Wage
Rate
Sections 2(a) and (b) of Executive Order 13658 establish the
methodology that the Secretary must use to determine the annual
inflation-based increases to the minimum wage rate. See 79 FR 9851.
These provisions, which are implemented in 29 CFR 10.5(b)(2), explain
that the applicable minimum wage determined by the Secretary for each
calendar year shall be:
<bullet> Not less than the amount in effect on the date of such
determination;
<bullet> 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
<bullet> Rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05.
Once a determination has been made with respect to the new minimum
wage rate, Executive Order 13658 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 79 FR 9851; 29 CFR 10.5(a)(2), 10.12(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
10.12(c)(2)(i). Additionally, the regulations state that the
Administrator will provide notice of the Executive Order 13658 minimum
wage rate on Wage Determinations OnLine (WDOL), <a href="http://www.wdol.gov">http://www.wdol.gov</a>, or
any successor site; \2\ on all wage determinations issued under the DBA
and the SCA; and by other means the
[[Page 5785]]
Administrator deems appropriate. See 29 CFR 10.12(c)(2)(ii)-(iv).
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\2\ <a href="http://WDOL.gov">WDOL.gov</a> has since moved to <a href="https://sam.gov/content/wage-determinations">https://sam.gov/content/wage-determinations</a>. This website is the authoritative and single website
for obtaining appropriate Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act
wage determinations for each official contract action.
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Section 3 of Executive Order 13658 requires contractors to pay
tipped employees covered by the order performing on or in connection
with covered contracts an hourly cash wage of at least $4.90, beginning
on January 1, 2015, provided the employees receive sufficient tips to
equal the Executive Order 13658 minimum wage rate under section 2 of
the order when combined with the cash wage. See 79 FR 9851-52; 29 CFR
10.28(a). The order further provides that, in each succeeding year,
beginning January 1, 2016, the required cash wage must increase by
$0.95 (or a lesser amount if necessary) until it reaches 70 percent of
the Executive Order 13658 minimum wage. Id. For subsequent years, the
cash wage for tipped employees will be 70 percent of the Executive
Order 13658 minimum wage rounded to the nearest $0.05. Id. When a
contractor is using a tip credit to meet a portion of its wage
obligations under the Executive Order, the amount of tips received by
the employee must equal at least the difference between the cash wage
paid and the Executive Order 13658 minimum wage. If the employee does
not receive sufficient tips, the contractor must increase the cash wage
paid so that the cash wage in combination with the tips received equals
the Executive Order 13658 minimum wage. Id.
The Executive Order 13658 minimum wage and the cash wage required
for tipped employees are currently $13.30 and $9.30 per hour,
respectively. The Department announced these rates on September 30,
2024, 89 FR 79641, and the rates took effect on January 1, 2025.
III. The 2026 Executive Order 13658 Minimum Wage Rate
Using the methodology set forth in Executive Order 13658 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 13658 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 compared the percentage change in the
CPI-W between the most recent year and the prior year. The Department
then increased the current Executive Order 13658 minimum wage rate by
the resulting annual percentage change and rounded to the nearest
multiple of $0.05.
Consistent with past practice, the Department determined the 2026
Executive Order 13658 minimum wage rate by averaging the CPI-W for the
first two quarters of 2025 and the last two quarters of 2024 (i.e.,
July 2024 through June 2025). This produced an average index level of
311.293. The Department then compared that data to the average CPI-W
for the preceding year--303.729--which consists of the first two
quarters of 2024 and the last two quarters of 2023 (i.e., July 2023
through June 2024). Based on this methodology, the Department
determined that the annual percentage increase in the CPI-W was 2.490
percent ((311.293 / 303.729)-1). The Department then applied that
annual percentage increase of 2.490 percent to the current Executive
Order hourly minimum wage rate of $13.30, which resulted in a wage rate
of $13.631 (($13.30 x 0.02490) + $13.30). Pursuant to the Executive
Order, that rate must be rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05.
Accordingly, the new Executive Order 13658 minimum wage rate that
must generally be paid to workers performing on or in connection with
covered contracts beginning May 11, 2026, is $13.65 per hour.
IV. The 2026 Executive Order 13658 Minimum Cash Wage for Tipped
Employees
As noted above, section 3 of Executive Order 13658 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. Because the cash wage for tipped employees
reached 70 percent of the Executive Order 13658 minimum wage beginning
on January 1, 2018 (i.e., $7.25 per hour compared to $10.35 per hour),
future updates to the cash wage for tipped employees must continue to
set the rate at 70 percent of the full Executive Order 13658 minimum
wage. Seventy percent of the new Executive Order 13658 minimum wage
rate of $13.65 is $9.555 ($13.65 x 0.70). Because the Executive Order
provides that the rate must be rounded to the nearest $0.05, the new
minimum hourly cash wage for tipped workers performing on or in
connection with covered contracts beginning May 11, 2026, is therefore
$9.55 per hour.
V. Appendix
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 13658 minimum wage rate based on the methodology
explained herein. A poster reflecting the new Executive Order 13658
minimum wage rate will be publicly available on the WHD website.
Dated: February 4, 2026.
Andrew B. Rogers,
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division.
Appendix A: Data Used To Determine 2026 Executive Order 13658 Minimum
Wage Rate.
Data Source: Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers (CPI-W) (United States city average, all items, not
seasonally adjusted).
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Quarter 3
Quarter 4
Quarter 1
Quarter 2 Annual
average
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2023Q3 to 2024Q2.......................................... 299.899 301.551 302.257 302.071 301.224 300.728 302.201 304.284 306.502 307.811 308.163 308.054 303.729
2024Q3 to 2025Q2.......................................... 308.501 308.640 309.046 309.358 308.998 309.067 311.172 312.460 313.250 314.243 314.839 315.945 311.293
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Annual Percentage Increase................................ ........ ........ ......... ........ ........ ......... ........ ........ ......... ........ ........ ......... 2.490%
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[FR Doc. 2026-02466 Filed 2-6-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-27-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 9, 2026.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.