The Walsh–Healey Public Contracts Act of 1936 (41 USC §§6501-6511) is a United States labor law, passed as part of the New Deal.
The Walsh-Healey Act that applies to U.S. government contracts exceeding $15,000 for the manufacturing or furnishing of goods.
The law prohibits the employment of youths less than 16 years of age and convicts (only those currently in prison), except under certain conditions.
The Act was named for its Congressional sponsors, both Massachusetts Democrats, Senator David I. Walsh and Representative Arthur Healey.
[2] The Act was based on Executive Order 6246, issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 10, 1933, which required government contractors to comply with codes of fair competition issued under the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA).