President Obama will announce in his State of the Union address Tuesday that he will use his executive power to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour for workers on new government contracts, after demands from liberal groups and lawmakers. The president will also recommence his call for Congress to pass laws to increase the federal minimum wage for all workers from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour by 2015. The White House previously stated it wanted to focus on the legislative route for boosting minimum wage. The president’s actions should go in affect beginning in 2015 or at the start of new contracts.
