The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1938-06-16
Public Contracts
Act Now includes
Small Contractors
Bill Passed BY Senate Will
Amend Welsh -HeoleY
Act
YOUTH ARE BARRED
Violdtors Not To Be Given
Chdnce To Bid For
Three Years

l01ee 4eOIS
Washington, D. C.-The Senate
passed by unanimous vote bill
amending the Walsh Healey Public
Contracts Act so as to secure a wider
application of it's basic labor princi-
pies to contractors.
The original Walsh Healey Public
Contracts Act of 1896 is limited to
contracts in excess Of $4,000. The bill
passed by the Senate reduces this
limitation to $4,000 and extends it to
sub-contracts where the amount equals
or exceeds $500 and to contracts for
services and vessels.
Prevailing Wage, 4O-Hour Week
Under the Walsh Heaey Act con-
tractors for government work are re-
quired to pay their employees not less
than the minimum wages as deter
mined by the Secretary of Labor to be
the prevailing minimum wages in the
locality and the employees of such con-
tractors are not permitted to work in
excess of eight hours in any one day
or in excess of 40 hours in any one
week. The bill as passed by the Sen
ate contains the addition that the pre-
vailing minimum wages shall be "fair
and reasonable" in accordance with
the judgment of the Secretary of La
Dor.
Child Labor Restrictions
The act also prohibits the employ
ment of male persons under 16 years
of age. In the bill as passed by the
Senate the labor of both boys and
girls under Is is prohibited and their
employment under 18 is banned in any
occupation which has been declared to
be hazardous or injurious to their
health by the Secretary of Labor. The
report of the Senate Committee on
Education and Labor favoring the en-
actment of the bill said this change
was designed to bring the provisions
of the act "more into conformity
with state child labor standards and
the generally accepted practice of in
dustry which begins the employment
of minors at 16 and will eliminate the
present inconsistent standards cover
ing male and female minors"
List of Ineligible Bidders Provided
The original act provides that unless
the Secretary of Labor otherwise rec
ommends no government contract shall
be .warded to persons designated as
having preached azy>se the provisions
of the Act "until three years have
elapsed from the date the Secretary
of Labor determines such breach to
have occurred"
For more adequate enforcement the
bill passed by the Senate includes au-
thority to place on the ineligible list
of bidders for government work con-
tractors persistently remaining in vio-
lation Of the National Labor Relations
Act.
In explaining the necessity for ex-
tending the scope of the Act to all
contracts in excess of $4,000, the Sen
ate committee said that the $4,000
jurisdiction "covers only about per
cent of the number of supply con-
tracts and only Is per cent of their
total value"
The committee also said that "the
practice of splitting bids so that juris-
diction of the act could be evaded
would be very much cut down if the
jurisdiction were increased to $4,000
contracts"
Similar Bill in House
A bill similar to the Senate bill has
been reported favorably by the Com
mittee on the Judiciary of the House
of Representatives but the majority
report was accompanied by a minority
report signed by seven members of
the committee who based their oppo-
sition on the allegation that the
measure repeals the Fifth Amendment
to the Federal Constitution, that ex-
tending the scope of the measure
downward to contracts of $4,000 and
over "is unnecessary and inadvisable,"
and to the provision barring from bid
ding on government work those who
have persistently violated the provis-
ions of the Public Contracts Act itself
and the provisions of the National
Labor Relations Act.
The Senate bill amending the Pub
lie Contracts Act was introduced by
Senator Walsh Of Massachusetts,. The
House bill was introduced by Repre-
sentative Healey of Massachusetts.