Federal wage rates updated for service workers across 14 Alaska regions

Federal contractors operating across 14 Alaska boroughs and census areas, from the North Slope and Bethel to Aleutians East and Yukon-Koyukuk, must now pay new mandatory minimum hourly rates for hundreds of service occupations under Revision 29 of Wage Determination No. 2015-5687, issued by the U.S. Department of Labor on May 14. Contracts subject to the Service Contract Act that are awarded or renewed in these regions must comply upon award.

Health-sector floors are among the highest: Nuclear Medicine Technologist at $77.08 per hour, Dental Hygienist at $62.12, Registered Nurse IV at $52.15. The determination also sets health and welfare fringe benefits at $5.55 per hour, capped at 40 hours per week, twelve paid holidays per year, and, for contracts subject to Executive Order 13706, one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to 56 hours annually.

The applicable wage floor depends on when a contract was entered. Executive Order 14236, signed March 14, 2025, revoked EO 14026 and ended the $17.75 federal-contractor minimum, returning covered contracts to EO 13658 rates. That order covers contracts entered between Jan. 1, 2015, and Jan. 29, 2022, that were not renewed or extended after that date; the current EO 13658 floor is $13.65 per hour as of May 11, 2026. According to guidance from Jackson Lewis P.C., the Department of Labor has not clarified what rate, beyond the federal $7.25 baseline, governs contracts entered after Jan. 30, 2022. Employer-side advisors note that layered federal rules create compliance burdens and cost pressure for contractors, a concern they say falls hardest on small rural contractors. Alaska's statewide minimum wage rises to $14.00 on July 1, 2026, meaning some Alaska workers will hold a higher state floor than the EO 13658 federal-contractor minimum.