Trump Axes $15 Contractor Wage, Infrastructure Project Orders

President Donald Trump scrapped Biden-era executive orders that raised the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 and drove federal infrastructure investments toward companies that agree to union neutrality.

The president also nixed an order directing federal agencies to incentivize the use of registered apprenticeships by their contractors.

The rescissions came late Friday and add to Trump’s revocation of more than six dozen executive orders on Inauguration Day.

Trump’s move to cancel the contractor pay raise, which started to apply to new or renewed federal contracts in 2022, comes after some businesses and several Republican-led states sued over the executive order with mixed success.

The US Supreme Court in January declined to take up the legal question of whether enacting the $15 wage was within former President Joe Biden’s presidential procurement authority, largely leaving the boost in place.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit also backed the wage last month, joining with the Tenth Circuit but splitting from the Ninth Circuit.

Because the executive order and subsequent rule implementing Biden’s wage increase also included annual adjustments for inflation, the current minimum wage for contractors under Executive Order 14026 is $17.75.

‘Good Jobs’ Order

In addition to union neutrality, the now canceled EO 14126 favored companies that offer equitable compensation practices and participate in registered apprenticeships.

The business community had argued the Biden order would unfairly favor labor unions in the application process for money provided under the American Rescue Plan, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act.

The order had directed federal agencies to prioritize grant applicants that have project labor agreements, or promote “voluntary union recognition, and neutrality with respect to union organizing.” Offering benefits like registered apprenticeships, job training, child care, and paid leave would also give an applicant greater weight when being considered for funding.

Trump’s rescission ends the Biden administration’s “good jobs” legacy, an initiative launched in 2022 that sought to encourage companies to offer better pay and benefits through award or grant funding.

Apprenticeship Order

Biden’s EO 14119 instructed the federal government to prioritize registered apprenticeship participants in their contracting and grant decisions.

His administration touted the US Labor Department’s registered apprenticeship system as an alternative pathway to the middle class, and one that offers higher wages and benefits without the debt that comes with a college degree.

Some employers were skeptical that the DOL’s program should be the vehicle for delivering those new training opportunities to workers. They also raised concerns about the process and requirements to participate.