Kara Sacilotto Discusses Minimum Wage Executive Order Targeting Contractors

January 30, 2014

Kara M. Sacilotto, a partner in Wiley Rein’s Government Contracts Practice, was quoted in a Law 360 article yesterday about President Obama’s plan to issue an Executive Order (EO) requiring federal contractors to pay a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour to employees.  Obama announced his intentions during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, as part of his push to increase the national minimum wage.

Ms. Sacilotto noted that it questionable why the President is focusing on government contractors.  “It’s not necessarily fair to single out federal contractors,” she told Law360. “They’ve already got some protections.”  For example, she observed that federal contractors are already subject to minimum wages set by the U.S. Department of Labor through the Service Contract Act and the Davis-Bacon Act, among other laws.  “To me this is perhaps a way of moving the needle on the minimum wage.  One could argue that it puts a spotlight on an issue and provides greater attention.”

Ms. Sacilotto added that this latest initiative may be part of the greater scrutiny levied on government contractors as a result of increased contract spending and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  “Ten years ago, it would have to be a big-time scandal to be in the news, but now you read about government contracts all the time,” Sacilotto said.