Several weeks ago, I suggested that you stay tuned for the latest developments—that we wouldn’t know much about the Biden vaccine mandate until we had actually read any Presidential executive orders. Well, we can now read two of these:
Federal contractors need to watch this issue very closely. The White House hasn’t released a copy of the official Presidential executive order, but only a fact sheet. So we can’t tell you all the ramifications of this order—except to say that it can be a mine field for employers. So far, two critical issues haven’t been addressed:
On May 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule withdrawing the Trump independent contractor rule. |
In the waning days of the Trump Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new final regulation about classifying workers as either employees or independent contractors. The announcement indicated the regulation would take effect on March 8, 2021.
On April 27, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring Federal Government contractors to pay at least $15 an hour to certain employees. The order will go into effect on January 30, 2022.