Davis-Bacon Act
Encyclopedia
The Davis–Bacon Act of 1931 is a United States federal law which established the requirement for paying prevailing wages on public works
projects. All federal government
construction contracts, and most contracts for federally assisted construction over $2,000, must include provisions for paying workers on-site no less than the locally prevailing wage
s and benefits
paid on similar projects.
The act is named after its sponsors, James J. Davis
, a Senator from Pennsylvania and a former Secretary of Labor
under three presidents, and Representative
Robert L. Bacon
of Long Island
, New York
. The Davis-Bacon act was passed by Congress
and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover
on March 3, 1931.
The first state level law passed in 1891, when on the state
level, Kansas
instituted this first such law. Forty-one states followed suit in the years to come. These state laws were the fruit of the "Progressive Era
," which instituted statutes such as child labor laws
, public schools and workers' compensation
insurance.
But it took the worldwide Great Depression
-- which at its height saw one out of four Americans unemployed—to fuel the passing of the Davis–Bacon Act by a Republican Congress and a Republican President, Herbert Hoover. Representative Bacon initially introduced the bill after a contractor employed African-American workers from Alabama
to build a Veterans' Bureau hospital in his New York
district. Complaints about "negro" or "colored" labor taking federal construction jobs appear sporadically through the legislation history of both prior bills that anticipated Davis-Bacon,and Davis-Bacon itself. Beyond that, the legislative history of Davis-Bacon reflects a clear desire by Congress to reserve jobs on federal projects for local workers. Not only did local workers complain about non-locals taking these jobs, but Congressmen were frustrated that their efforts to bring "pork barrel" projects home to their districts did not result in jobs (and therefore political support) from their constituents.
Opponents to the Davis–Bacon Act have emphasized the racist intent to the law, but critics have countered that this is a red herring, claiming that the law was a sincere attempt to preserve federal jobs for local workers and to maintain local wage standards against migratory workers of any race. Critics dismiss the claim that racist sentiments expressed in the legislative history were a significant factor in the passage of the act.
While Davis-Bacon (and associated "Little Davis-Bacon" state laws) do encourage the hiring of skilled local workers, advocates emphasize that they also work to train young people to become skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen. Despite anti-union criticism, union apprenticeship programs (which Davis-Bacon tends to promote), which were once closed to African Americans, today actively recruit and train minorities.
Union supporters of Davis-Bacon point to a 2002 case known as Brazier Construction vs. Elaine Chao, Secretary of the Department of Labor. In it, Judge William B. Bryant rejected that Davis-Bacon was a Jim Crow law, stating: "Americans of all races were in need of aid from the government during the Great Depression. Congress enacted the DBA (Davis-Bacon Act) to assure workers a fair wage, provide local contractors a fair opportunity to compete for local government contracts and to preserve its own ability to distribute employment and federal money equitably through public works projects." With the claim rejected, the plaintiffs did not appeal. Despite notable attempts to repeal the Davis–Bacon Act, the law for the most part continues to enjoy often bi-partisan local support across the nation.
, claiming that it was passed to prevent African Americans from working on government projects. Congressional representative John Cochran
of Missouri said that he supported the Davis–Bacon Act because he had "received numerous complaints in recent months about Southern contractors' employing low-paid colored mechanics getting work and bringing the employees from the South." Congressional representative Clayton Allgood
of Alabama said that he supported Davis-Bacon because "Reference has been made to a contractor from Alabama who went to New York with bootleg labor. This is a fact. That contractor has cheap colored labor that he transports, and he puts them in cabins, and it is labor of that sort that is in competition with white labor throughout the country."
Modern proponents of the law, however, argue that while elements of racism may have provided some support for the bill, the major motivation was to enable a locality to protect itself economically from "a race to the bottom" in wage rates. Peter Philips and Dale Belman reviewed the legislative history of prevailing wage regulations that culminated in the Davis–Bacon Act and found that a number of the laws were in fact intended to keep out laborers of Northern European ancestry as well as out-of-area workers from the upper Great Plains. In a 1971 article in Harper's, Civil Rights Activist Bayard Rustin forcefully dismissed concerns about the racial impacts of prevailing wage laws, calling them a divisive distraction from the real task of building alliances between construction workers of all races.
The Act was modified again in 1964 to include fringe benefits in the calculation of prevailing wages.
In 1994, the Davis-Bacon act was amended so that the construction, renovation or repair of buildings used by Head Start programs are also subject to the requirements of the Davis–Bacon Act.
.
The Davis–Bacon Act was suspended by President Richard Nixon
for 28 days in February 1971 in an effort to reduce inflation
pressures. Labor Secretary Peter J. Brennan
accused the Nixon administration of treating construction workers as patsies. Shortly afterward, Nixon reinstated Davis-Bacon enforcement and ordered the establishment of the Construction Industry Stabilization Committee.
In September 1992 President George H. W. Bush
indefinitely suspended the Davis–Bacon Act during the recovery from Hurricane Andrew
in 1992. After Bill Clinton
became president, he reinstated the Act in March 1993.
On September 7, 2005, President George W. Bush
, citing a national emergency, again suspended the Act in the areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. He reinstated it on October 26, 2005.
(GOP) has long been trying to repeal the Davis-Bacon act on the grounds that the regulations are outdated, expensive and bureaucratic. In 1993 Representative Cliff Stearns
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r103:H09MR3-55: urged the repeal of the act. Republican Sue Wilkins Myrick
tried to repeal it outright in the budget battles of 1995.http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r104:H28SE5-35: Weakening it was part of the Republican Party platform in 1996 and 2000. In February 1999, Representative Ron Paul
attempted to repeal it. http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec99/cr021199.htm In 2004, Representative Marilyn Musgrave
tried again. The latest effort by the GOP was put forth on January 20, 2011 as part of their over-all effort to cut $2.5 Trillion from the budget over the next 10 years, with the repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act claimed to save approximately $1 billion annually.
, House Representatives Jeff Flake
, Tom Feeney
, Marilyn Musgrave
, and other members of the House Republican Study Committee
(RSC) urged President Bush
to suspend the Davis–Bacon Act temporarily in order to expedite the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/9/9/95352.shtml http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/az06_flake/050908davisbacon.html
President George W. Bush
then issued proclamation
7924 to suspend indefinitely the provisions of 40 U.S.C. 3141-3148 (the Davis–Bacon Act) in designated areas in the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi—the areas most heavily hit by the hurricane. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050908-7.html http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050908-5.html.
for workers involved in the restoration of the Gulf Coast. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.1749.IS: Similar measures have been submitted to the House with H.R.3684, H.R.3763, and H.R.3834. On October 26, 2005, after pressure from both Democrats and Republicans, Bush rescinded his emergency order and restored the prevailing wage requirement http://www.lindasanchez.house.gov/index.cfm?section=news&article=2005_10_27_4535 .
Public works
Public works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...
projects. All federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
construction contracts, and most contracts for federally assisted construction over $2,000, must include provisions for paying workers on-site no less than the locally prevailing wage
Prevailing wage
In government contracting, a prevailing wage is defined as the hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime, paid to the majority of workers, laborers, and mechanics within a particular area. Prevailing wages are established by regulatory agencies for each trade and occupation employed in the...
s and benefits
Employee benefit
Employee benefits and benefits in kind are various non-wage compensations provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries...
paid on similar projects.
The act is named after its sponsors, James J. Davis
James J. Davis
James John Davis was an American steel worker and Republican Party politician in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He served as U.S. Secretary of Labor and represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate...
, a Senator from Pennsylvania and a former Secretary of Labor
United States Secretary of Labor
The United States Secretary of Labor is the head of the Department of Labor who exercises control over the department and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies....
under three presidents, and Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Robert L. Bacon
Robert L. Bacon
Robert Low Bacon was a banker, Lieutenant Colonel, and congressman from New York.-Biography:Born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, the son of Martha Waldron Cowdin and future Secretary of State Robert Bacon, he received a common school education as a child...
of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The Davis-Bacon act was passed by Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
on March 3, 1931.
History
Prevailing wage laws in the U.S. date back as far to 1868 when the Congress passed the National Eight Hour Day and directed its public works contractors to limit work to eight hours per day without any reduction in the rate of pay, which was paid on a daily rate at the time.The first state level law passed in 1891, when on the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
level, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
instituted this first such law. Forty-one states followed suit in the years to come. These state laws were the fruit of the "Progressive Era
Progressive Era
The Progressive Era in the United States was a period of social activism and political reform that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s. One main goal of the Progressive movement was purification of government, as Progressives tried to eliminate corruption by exposing and undercutting political...
," which instituted statutes such as child labor laws
Child labor laws in the United States
Child labor laws in the United States include numerous statutes and rules regulating the employment of minors. According to the United States Department of Labor, child labor laws affect those under the age of 18 in a variety of occupations....
, public schools and workers' compensation
Workers' compensation
Workers' compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence...
insurance.
But it took the worldwide Great Depression
Great Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...
-- which at its height saw one out of four Americans unemployed—to fuel the passing of the Davis–Bacon Act by a Republican Congress and a Republican President, Herbert Hoover. Representative Bacon initially introduced the bill after a contractor employed African-American workers from Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
to build a Veterans' Bureau hospital in his New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
district. Complaints about "negro" or "colored" labor taking federal construction jobs appear sporadically through the legislation history of both prior bills that anticipated Davis-Bacon,and Davis-Bacon itself. Beyond that, the legislative history of Davis-Bacon reflects a clear desire by Congress to reserve jobs on federal projects for local workers. Not only did local workers complain about non-locals taking these jobs, but Congressmen were frustrated that their efforts to bring "pork barrel" projects home to their districts did not result in jobs (and therefore political support) from their constituents.
Opponents to the Davis–Bacon Act have emphasized the racist intent to the law, but critics have countered that this is a red herring, claiming that the law was a sincere attempt to preserve federal jobs for local workers and to maintain local wage standards against migratory workers of any race. Critics dismiss the claim that racist sentiments expressed in the legislative history were a significant factor in the passage of the act.
While Davis-Bacon (and associated "Little Davis-Bacon" state laws) do encourage the hiring of skilled local workers, advocates emphasize that they also work to train young people to become skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen. Despite anti-union criticism, union apprenticeship programs (which Davis-Bacon tends to promote), which were once closed to African Americans, today actively recruit and train minorities.
Union supporters of Davis-Bacon point to a 2002 case known as Brazier Construction vs. Elaine Chao, Secretary of the Department of Labor. In it, Judge William B. Bryant rejected that Davis-Bacon was a Jim Crow law, stating: "Americans of all races were in need of aid from the government during the Great Depression. Congress enacted the DBA (Davis-Bacon Act) to assure workers a fair wage, provide local contractors a fair opportunity to compete for local government contracts and to preserve its own ability to distribute employment and federal money equitably through public works projects." With the claim rejected, the plaintiffs did not appeal. Despite notable attempts to repeal the Davis–Bacon Act, the law for the most part continues to enjoy often bi-partisan local support across the nation.
Controversies
As noted above, it has been argued by critics that this law is a Jim Crow lawJim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
, claiming that it was passed to prevent African Americans from working on government projects. Congressional representative John Cochran
John J. Cochran
John Joseph Cochran was a U.S. Representative from Missouri.Cochran was born in Webster Groves, Missouri and attended the public schools there. He was employed in the editorial department of various St. Louis newspapers for many years, and served as assistant to the election commissioners of St...
of Missouri said that he supported the Davis–Bacon Act because he had "received numerous complaints in recent months about Southern contractors' employing low-paid colored mechanics getting work and bringing the employees from the South." Congressional representative Clayton Allgood
Miles C. Allgood
Miles Clayton Allgood was a U.S. Representative from Alabama.Born in Chepultepec , Blount County, Alabama, Allgood attended the common schools of his native county and was graduated from the State Normal College at Florence, Alabama , in 1898.He taught school in Blount County...
of Alabama said that he supported Davis-Bacon because "Reference has been made to a contractor from Alabama who went to New York with bootleg labor. This is a fact. That contractor has cheap colored labor that he transports, and he puts them in cabins, and it is labor of that sort that is in competition with white labor throughout the country."
Modern proponents of the law, however, argue that while elements of racism may have provided some support for the bill, the major motivation was to enable a locality to protect itself economically from "a race to the bottom" in wage rates. Peter Philips and Dale Belman reviewed the legislative history of prevailing wage regulations that culminated in the Davis–Bacon Act and found that a number of the laws were in fact intended to keep out laborers of Northern European ancestry as well as out-of-area workers from the upper Great Plains. In a 1971 article in Harper's, Civil Rights Activist Bayard Rustin forcefully dismissed concerns about the racial impacts of prevailing wage laws, calling them a divisive distraction from the real task of building alliances between construction workers of all races.
Amendments
The Davis–Bacon Act was amended in 1935 to ensure that contractors bidding on public works projects would not lower wages in order to achieve a lower bid; and to permit government agencies, which were required to accept the lowest bids, to employ contractors who paid a fair wage.The Act was modified again in 1964 to include fringe benefits in the calculation of prevailing wages.
In 1994, the Davis-Bacon act was amended so that the construction, renovation or repair of buildings used by Head Start programs are also subject to the requirements of the Davis–Bacon Act.
Suspensions
In 1934 President Franklin Roosevelt suspended the Act for three weeks in order to manage administrative adjustments in light of the New DealNew Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
.
The Davis–Bacon Act was suspended by President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
for 28 days in February 1971 in an effort to reduce inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
pressures. Labor Secretary Peter J. Brennan
Peter J. Brennan
Peter Brennan was United States Secretary of Labor under Presidents Nixon and Ford. He served between February 2, 1973 and March 15, 1975...
accused the Nixon administration of treating construction workers as patsies. Shortly afterward, Nixon reinstated Davis-Bacon enforcement and ordered the establishment of the Construction Industry Stabilization Committee.
In September 1992 President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
indefinitely suspended the Davis–Bacon Act during the recovery from Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was the third Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the United States, after the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 and Hurricane Camille in 1969. Andrew was the first named storm and only major hurricane of the otherwise inactive 1992 Atlantic hurricane season...
in 1992. After Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
became president, he reinstated the Act in March 1993.
On September 7, 2005, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, citing a national emergency, again suspended the Act in the areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. He reinstated it on October 26, 2005.
Efforts to repeal
The Republican PartyRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
(GOP) has long been trying to repeal the Davis-Bacon act on the grounds that the regulations are outdated, expensive and bureaucratic. In 1993 Representative Cliff Stearns
Cliff Stearns
Clifford Bundy "Cliff" Stearns, Sr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1989. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education and career:According to his official biography, Stearns was born in Washington, D.C...
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r103:H09MR3-55: urged the repeal of the act. Republican Sue Wilkins Myrick
Sue Wilkins Myrick
Sue Wilkins Myrick is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. She is a member of the Republican Party. She is the first Republican woman to represent North Carolina in Congress.-Early political career:...
tried to repeal it outright in the budget battles of 1995.http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r104:H28SE5-35: Weakening it was part of the Republican Party platform in 1996 and 2000. In February 1999, Representative Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
attempted to repeal it. http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec99/cr021199.htm In 2004, Representative Marilyn Musgrave
Marilyn Musgrave
Marilyn Neoma Musgrave , American politician, is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives who served from 2003 to 2009, representing the 4th District of Colorado....
tried again. The latest effort by the GOP was put forth on January 20, 2011 as part of their over-all effort to cut $2.5 Trillion from the budget over the next 10 years, with the repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act claimed to save approximately $1 billion annually.
Hurricane Katrina
In the wake of Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, House Representatives Jeff Flake
Jeff Flake
Jeffrey Lane "Jeff" Flake is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was featured in the documentary series How Democracy Works Now: Twelve Stories....
, Tom Feeney
Tom Feeney
Thomas Charles "Tom" Feeney III, usually known as Tom Feeney , is an American politician from the state of Florida. He represented . He was defeated in the 2008 election by Democrat Suzanne Kosmas.-Early life:...
, Marilyn Musgrave
Marilyn Musgrave
Marilyn Neoma Musgrave , American politician, is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives who served from 2003 to 2009, representing the 4th District of Colorado....
, and other members of the House Republican Study Committee
Republican Study Committee
The Republican Study Committee [RSC] is a caucus of over 170 conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives...
(RSC) urged President Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to suspend the Davis–Bacon Act temporarily in order to expedite the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/9/9/95352.shtml http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/az06_flake/050908davisbacon.html
President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
then issued proclamation
Proclamation
A proclamation is an official declaration.-England and Wales:In English law, a proclamation is a formal announcement , made under the great seal, of some matter which the King in Council or Queen in Council desires to make known to his or her subjects: e.g., the declaration of war, or state of...
7924 to suspend indefinitely the provisions of 40 U.S.C. 3141-3148 (the Davis–Bacon Act) in designated areas in the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi—the areas most heavily hit by the hurricane. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050908-7.html http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050908-5.html.
Efforts to repeal suspension
Senators have submitted S. 1749, the Fair Wages for Hurricane Katrina Recovery Workers Act, which would restore Davis-Bacon wage floorsPrice controls
Price controls are governmental impositions on the prices charged for goods and services in a market, usually intended to maintain the affordability of staple foods and goods, and to prevent price gouging during shortages, or, alternatively, to insure an income for providers of certain goods...
for workers involved in the restoration of the Gulf Coast. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.1749.IS: Similar measures have been submitted to the House with H.R.3684, H.R.3763, and H.R.3834. On October 26, 2005, after pressure from both Democrats and Republicans, Bush rescinded his emergency order and restored the prevailing wage requirement http://www.lindasanchez.house.gov/index.cfm?section=news&article=2005_10_27_4535 .
See also
- McNamara–O'Hara Service Contract Act
- WageWageA wage is a compensation, usually financial, received by workers in exchange for their labor.Compensation in terms of wages is given to workers and compensation in terms of salary is given to employees...
- Worker's compensation
- Minimum wageMinimum wageA minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
- Living wageLiving wageIn public policy, a living wage is the minimum hourly income necessary for a worker to meet basic needs . These needs include shelter and other incidentals such as clothing and nutrition...
- Prevailing wagePrevailing wageIn government contracting, a prevailing wage is defined as the hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime, paid to the majority of workers, laborers, and mechanics within a particular area. Prevailing wages are established by regulatory agencies for each trade and occupation employed in the...
Descriptive sources on Davis-Bacon
Support for Davis-Bacon
- http://www.bctd.org/news/index.cfm?cid=8 Fact Sheets from the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO.]
- UA32PAC Position Paper on "Davis/Bacon, Prevailing Wage"
- http://www.faircontracting.org/NAFCnewsite/prevwage.htm Various studies in favor of the Prevailing Wage, as posted by the National Alliance for Fair Contracting.
Opposition to Davis-Bacon
- National Alliance for Worker and Employer Rights: opposition group to Davis Bacon Law
- Removing Barriers to Opportunity:A Constitutional Challenge to The Davis-Bacon Act Institute for Justice
- Repeal the Davis Bacon Act of 1931 Walter Williams Capitalism Magazine December 7, 2003
- Pro-labor opposition to Davis-Bacon
Suspension of Davis-Bacon following Katrina
- Message to the Congress of the United States Regarding Hurricane Katrina President George W.Bush briefly suspends Davis–Bacon Act Sept 8, 2005;
- Proclamation by the President: To Suspend Subchapter IV of Chapter 31 of Title 40, United States Code, Within a Limited Geographic Area in Response to the National Emergency Caused by Hurricane Katrina September 8, 2005;
- President signs executive order suspending wage law in Katrina wake, Sara R. Parsowith, Jurist Legal News & Research, September 10, 2005;
- Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act.