Home >> Research >> Economic Opportunity

More Information

Related Topics

• Texas Jobs Snapshot for 2012
• Testimony: Senate Committee on Business and Commerce
• Testimony: Pensions, Investments, and Financial Services

Also by Don Baylor

• Texans Support Protections for Payday and Auto Loan Borrowers
• Texas Regional Opportunity Index: Midland
• State Board of Education Approves Financial Literacy for Math Curriculum

President Suspends Wage Laws for Gulf Coast Workers

  

Author:
Don Baylor /(512) 320-0222 x 108

October 7, 2005

Read Full Article >>  

Last month, the President suspended the Davis-Bacon Act for federally contracted cleanup and reconstruction projects in counties and parishes directly affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Davis-Bacon Act—a federal law since 1931—requires federal construction contractors to pay the prevailing hourly wage for each occupation in a geographic area. The prevailing hourly wage for construction occupations averages $9.50 per hour in the affected areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. However, the President’s repeal of Davis-Bacon enables federal contractors to hire minimum-wage workers to rebuild the Gulf Coast.