[JURIST] The Bush administration announced Wednesday that on November 8 it plans to reinstate rules that ensure workers on federal Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] projects receive fair wages that are close to the amount of local wages on similar projects. In the days following Hurricane Katrina, the President signed an executive order suspending provisions [JURIST report] of the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act [Dept. of Labor backgrounder; text], which protects federal contract workers from being underpaid, to reduce rebuilding costs and allow minority-owned companies to bid on projects. Representative Peter King (R-NY) [official website], a critic of the move, contended that its continued application would “antagonize organized labor” and result in lower pay for federal workers. AP has more.