Bush reinstates fair wage laws for Hurricane Katrina workers News
Bush reinstates fair wage laws for Hurricane Katrina workers

[JURIST] President Bush Thursday reinstated fair wage laws, suspended [JURIST report] after Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive], which mandate that employers awarded government contracts must pay local prevailing wages to workers. Last week, after a pro-labor Republican caucus met with the administration to voice their complaints over the act's suspension, Bush said he would restore the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act [text; DOL backgrounder] on November 8 [JURIST report], but he signed the proclamation [text] revoking his earlier order five days ahead of schedule. The wage act was suspended in an attempt to reduce rebuilding costs in the New Orleans area, but US Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH) [official website], a co-founder of the pro-labor caucus, said the administration realized that the suspended wage law was not resulting in the government savings that were originally anticipated. AP has more.