U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on “how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will rebuild America’s bridges,” in the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 14, 2022.
Kevin Lemarque | Reuters
Some federal employees just got a raise.
Federal agencies were told on Friday to raise the minimum wage to $15 for workers in accordance with President Joe Biden’s executive order, per a memo from the Office of Personnel Management.
Because of the directive, 67,000 out of 2.2 million government employees will get a raise, according to a Friday statement from the agency. Of those, more than 56,000 work at the Department of Defense and the remainder largely work at either the Department of Agriculture or Veteran’s Affairs.
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Still, the increased pay applies to all executive branch agencies except for the U.S. Postal Service and Postal Regulatory Commission. The pay bump must be implemented by Jan. 30, the Labor Department announced in November.
Biden campaigned on raising wages for low- and middle-class workers, and in April 2021 signed an executive order increasing the minimum wage for federal employees to $15.
“As the largest employer in the country, how the federal government treats its workforce has real impact,” Kiran Ahuja, director of the Office of Personnel Management, said in a statement.
“The Biden-Harris Administration believes that the federal workforce should be treated with dignity and respect. 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,” Ahuja added.
