Puerto Rico will be barred from paying its $15-an-hour minimum wage to workers on federally funded projects. White House officials acknowledged that rolling blackouts continue in Puerto Rico but insisted there was no need for new money. For example, the fiscal control board is viewed in Puerto Rico as unaccountable to the people. And Puerto Rican officials are not inclined to tell workers they will be paid less than the minimum wage. The restriction relating to the electrical grid may just be a practical one: Congress has already appropriated a separate tranche of money specifically for the electrical grid, though it has yet to be allocated.

Source: New York Times January 16, 2020 00:54 UTC