United States 1936

Synopsis

The Public Contracts Act (also known as the "Walsh-Healey Act") of 1936 was one of several important federal labor laws that Congress enacted during the mid-1930s. The act requires vendors who supply goods or services to the United States government to treat their employees "fairly and decently." The "fair and decent" labor practices required by the act include: paying prevailing minimum wages as determined by the secretary of labor, including overtime pay; not employing children or prison inmates; and providing safe and sanitary working conditions. The act also bars the government from dealing with vendors who are not manufacturers or regular dealers of the items to be supplied.

Timeline

• 1921: As the Allied Reparations Commission calls for payments of 132 billion gold marks, inflation in Germany begins to climb.
• 1926: Britain paralyzed by the general strike.
• 1931: Financial crisis widens in the United States and...