(a) Contract clause. The contractor, as a condition of payment, shall abide by the terms of the applicable Executive Order minimum wage contract clause referred to in § 23.110(a).

(b) Flow-down requirement. The contractor and any subcontractors shall include in any covered subcontracts the Executive Order minimum wage contract clause referred to in § 23.110(a) and shall require, as a condition of payment, that the subcontractor include the minimum wage contract clause in any lower-tier subcontracts. The prime contractor and any upper-tier contractor shall be responsible for the compliance by any subcontractor or lower-tier subcontractor with the Executive Order minimum wage requirements, whether or not the contract clause was included in the subcontract.

(a) General. The contractor must pay each worker performing work on or in connection with a covered contract no less than the applicable Executive Order minimum wage for all hours worked on or in connection with the covered contract, unless such worker is exempt under § 23.40. In determining whether a worker is performing within the scope of a covered contract, all workers who are engaged in working on or in connection with the contract, either in performing the specific services called for by its terms or in performing other duties necessary to the performance of the contract, are thus subject to the Executive Order and this part unless a specific exemption is applicable. Nothing in the Executive Order or this part shall excuse noncompliance with any applicable Federal or state prevailing wage law or any applicable law or municipal ordinance establishing a minimum wage higher than the minimum wage established under Executive Order 14026.

(b) Workers who receive fringe benefits. The contractor may not discharge any part of its minimum wage obligation under the Executive Order by furnishing fringe benefits or, with respect to workers whose wages are governed by the Service Contract Act, the cash equivalent thereof.

(c) Tipped employees. The contractor may satisfy the wage payment obligation to a tipped employee under the Executive Order through a combination of an hourly cash wage and a credit based on tips received by such employee pursuant to the provisions in § 23.280.

The contractor may make deductions that reduce a worker's wages below the Executive Order minimum wage rate only if such deduction qualifies as a:

(a) Deduction required by Federal, state, or local law, such as Federal or state withholding of income taxes;

(b) Deduction for payments made to third parties pursuant to court order;

(c) Deduction directed by a voluntary assignment of the worker or his or her authorized representative; or

(d) Deduction for the reasonable cost or fair value, as determined by the Administrator, of furnishing such worker with “board, lodging, or other facilities,” as defined in 29 U.S.C. 203(m)(1) and part 531 of this title.

(a) General. The Fair Labor Standards Act and the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act require overtime payment of not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay or basic rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek to covered workers. The regular rate of pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act is generally determined by dividing the worker's total earnings in any workweek by the total number of hours actually worked by the worker in that workweek for which such compensation was paid.

(b) Tipped employees. When overtime is worked by tipped employees who are entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act and/or the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, the employees' regular rate of pay includes both the cash wages paid by the employer (see §§ 23.220(a) and 23.280(a)(1)) and the amount of any tip credit taken (see § 23.280(a)(2)). (See part 778 of this title for a detailed discussion of overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act.) Any tips received by the employee in excess of the tip credit are not included in the regular rate.

Wage payments to workers shall be made no later than one pay period following the end of the regular pay period in which such wages were earned or accrued. A pay period under Executive Order 14026 may not be of any duration longer than semi-monthly.

(a) Records. The contractor and each subcontractor performing work subject to Executive Order 14026 shall make and maintain, for three years, records containing the information specified in paragraphs (a)(1) through (6) of this section for each worker and shall make them available for inspection and transcription by authorized representatives of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor:

(1) Name, address, and social security number of each worker;

(2) The worker's occupation(s) or classification(s);

(3) The rate or rates of wages paid;

(4) The number of daily and weekly hours worked by each worker;

(5) Any deductions made; and

(6) The total wages paid.

(b) Interviews. The contractor shall permit authorized representatives of the Wage and Hour Division to conduct interviews with workers at the worksite during normal working hours.

(c) Other recordkeeping obligations. Nothing in this part limits or otherwise modifies the contractor's recordkeeping obligations, if any, under the Davis-Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, or the Fair Labor Standards Act, or their implementing regulations in this title.

All wages paid to workers performing on or in connection with covered contracts must be paid free and clear and without subsequent deduction (except as set forth in § 23.230), rebate, or kickback on any account. Kickbacks directly or indirectly to the employer or to another person for the employer's benefit for the whole or part of the wage are prohibited.

(a) Payment of wages to tipped employees. With respect to workers who are tipped employees as defined in § 23.20 and this section, the amount of wages paid to such employee by the employee's employer shall be equal to:

(1) An hourly cash wage of at least:

(i) $10.50 an hour beginning on January 30, 2022;

(ii) Beginning January 1, 2023, 85 percent of the wage in effect under section 2 of the Executive Order, rounded to the nearest multiple of $0.05;

(iii) Beginning January 1, 2024, and for each subsequent year, 100 percent of the wage in effect under section 2 of the Executive Order; and

(2) An additional amount on account of the tips received by such employee (tip credit) which amount is equal to the difference between the hourly cash wage in paragraph (a)(1) of this section and the wage in effect under section 2 of the Executive Order. Where tipped employees do not receive a sufficient amount of tips in the workweek to equal the amount of the tip credit, the employer must increase the cash wage paid for the workweek under paragraph (a)(1) of this section so that the amount of the cash wage paid and the tips received by the employee equal the minimum wage under section 2 of the Executive Order.

(3) An employer may pay a higher cash wage than required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section and take a lower tip credit but may not pay a lower cash wage than required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section and take a greater tip credit. In order for the employer to claim a tip credit, the employer must demonstrate that the worker received at least the amount of the credit claimed in actual tips. If the worker received less than the claimed tip credit amount in tips during the workweek, the employer is required to pay the balance on the regular payday so that the worker receives the wage in effect under section 2 of the Executive Order with the defined combination of wages and tips.

(4) If the cash wage required to be paid under the Service Contract Act, 41 U.S.C. 6701 et seq., or any other applicable law or regulation is higher than the wage required by section 2 of the Executive Order, the employer shall pay additional cash wages equal to the difference between the wage in effect under section 2 of the Executive Order and the highest wage required to be paid.

(b) Requirements with respect to tipped employees. The definitions and requirements concerning tipped employees, the tip credit, the characteristics of tips, service charges, tip pooling, and notice set forth in 29 CFR 10.28(b) through (f) apply with respect to workers who are tipped employees, as defined in § 23.20, performing on or in connection with contracts covered under Executive Order 14026, except that the minimum required cash wage shall be the minimum required cash wage described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section for the purposes of Executive 14026. For the purposes of this section, where 29 CFR 10.28(b) through (f) uses the term “Executive Order,” that term refers to Executive Order 14026.

(a) The contractor must notify all workers performing work on or in connection with a covered contract of the applicable minimum wage rate under the Executive Order. With respect to service employees on contracts covered by the Service Contract Act and laborers and mechanics on contracts covered by the Davis-Bacon Act, the contractor may meet the requirement in this paragraph (a) by posting, in a prominent and accessible place at the worksite, the applicable wage determination under those statutes.

(b) With respect to workers performing work on or in connection with a covered contract whose wages are governed by the FLSA, the contractor must post a notice provided by the Department of Labor in a prominent and accessible place at the worksite so it may be readily seen by workers.

(c) Contractors that customarily post notices to workers electronically may post the notice electronically, provided such electronic posting is displayed prominently on any website that is maintained by the contractor, whether external or internal, and customarily used for notices to workers about terms and conditions of employment.