Davis-Bacon Act
The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 is U.S. federal legislation 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 wages and fringe benefits paid on similar projects.
The act is named after its Republican sponsors, James "Puddler Jim" Davis, a Senator from Pennsylvania and a former Secretary of Labor under three presidents, and Representative Robert L. Bacon of Long Island, New York.