The Labor Department is following through on President Barack Obama's pledge to get the ball rolling on a higher national minimum wage in the absence of any congressional legislation to accomplish this goal.
Labor Secretary Thomas Perez has finalized a federal rule raising the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors to $10.10 an hour.
Wednesday's move puts in force a step that Obama announced last February. The Labor Department said nearly 200,000 American workers will benefit from the new minimum, which takes effect Jan 1.
The minimum federal wage is now $7.25 an hour. Obama has proposed the higher pay level for all workers, but that has drawn resistance from Republicans in Congress. In announcing the new rule, Perez says that by raising the minimum wage for workers on federal contracts, the administration "is rewarding a hard day's work with fair pay."
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