THE
RANDOLPH-SHEPPARD ACT
AS AMENDED AND AS CODIFIED AT CHAPTER 6A OF TITLE 20 OF THE
U.S. CODE
VENDING FACILITIES FOR BLIND IN FEDERAL BUILDINGS
SECTION
107.Operation of vending
facilities.
(a) Authorization.
(b) Preferences regulations; justification for limitation on operation.
107a.Federal and State
responsibilities. (a) Functions of Secretary; surveys; designation of State
licensing agencies; qualifications for license; evaluation of programs.
(b) Duty of State licensing agencies to prefer blind.
(c) Selection of location and type of facility.
(d) Buildings occupied by United States departments, agencies, and
instrumentalities required to provide sites for facilities; exceptions.
(e) State licensing agency in States having vocational rehabilitation plans.
107b.Application for
designation as State licensing agency;cooperation
with Secretary; furnishing initial stock.
107b-1.Access to
information with State licensing agencies; election and responsibilities of
Committee of Blind Vendors.
107b-3.Audit of nonappropriated fund activities.
107d.Expenditures.
(a) Personal services, rent, printing, etc.
(b) Preference to blind persons in employment.
107d-1.Grievances of
blind licensees.
(a) Hearing and arbitration.
(b) Noncompliance by Federal departments and agencies; complaints by State
licensing agencies; arbitration.
107d-2.Arbitration.
(a) Notice and hearing.
(b) Composition of panel; designation of chairman; termination of violations.
(c) Publication of decisions in Federal Register.
(d) Payment of costs by the Secretary.
107d-3.Vending machine
income.
(a) Accrual to blind licensee and alternatively to State agency; ceiling on
amount for individual licensee.
(b) Direct competition between vending machine and vending facility;
proportion of accrued income from such vending machines for individual
licensee.
(c) Disposal of accrued vending machine income by State licensing agency.
(d) Income from vending machines in certain locations excepted.
(e) Regulations establishing priority for operation of cafeterias.
(f) Existing arrangements more favorable to blind licensees unaffected.
(g) Regulations for compliance.
107d-4.Training programs
for maximum vocational potential for blind.
107e.Definitions.
107f.Authorization of
appropriations.
Sec. 107. Operation of vending
facilities
(a) Authorization
For the purposes of providing blind persons with remunerative employment,
enlarging the economic opportunities of the blind, and stimulating the blind
to greater efforts in striving to make themselves self-supporting, blind
persons licensed under the provisions of this chapter shall be authorized to
operate vending facilities on any Federal property.
(b) Preferences regulations;
justification for limitation on operation in authorizing the operation of
vending facilities on Federal property, priority shall be given to blind
persons licensed by a State agency as provided in this chapter; and the Secretary,through the Commissioner, shall, after
consultation with the Administrator of General Services and other heads of
departments, agencies, or instrumentalities of the United States in control
of the maintenance, operation, and protection of Federal property, prescribe
regulations designed to assure that -
(1) the priority under this subsection
is given to such licensed blind persons (including assignment of vending
machine income pursuant to section 107d-3 of this title to achieve and
protect such priority), and
(2) wherever feasible, one or more
vending facilities are established on all Federal property to the extent that
any such facility or facilities would not adversely affect the interests of
the United States.
Any limitation on the placement or
operation of a vending facility based on a finding that such placement or
operation would adversely affect the interests of the United States shall be
fully justified in writing to the Secretary, who shall determine whether such
limitation is justified. A determination made by the Secretary pursuant to
this provision shall be binding on any department,agency,
or instrumentality of the United States affected by such determination. The
Secretary shall publish such determination,along
with supporting documentation, in the Federal Register.
Sec. 107a. Federal and State
responsibilities
(a) Functions of Secretary; surveys;
designation of State licensing agencies; qualifications for license;
evaluation of programs
The Secretary of Education shall -
(1) Insure that the Rehabilitation
Services Administration is the principal agency for carrying out this
chapter; and the Commissioner shall, within one hundred and eighty days after
enactment of the Randolph-Sheppard Act Amendments of 1974, establish
requirements for the uniform application of this chapter by each State agency
designated under paragraph (5) of this subsection, including appropriate
accounting procedures,policies on the selection and
establishment of new vending facilities, distribution of income to blind
vendors, and the use and control of set-aside funds under section 107b(3) of
this title;
(2) Through the Commissioner, make
annual surveys of concession vending opportunities for blind persons on
Federal and other property in the United States, particularly with respect to
Federal property under the control of the General Services Administration,
the Department of Defense, and the United States Postal Service;
(3) Make surveys throughout the
United States of industries with a view to obtaining information that will
assist blind persons to obtain employment;
(4) Make available to the public, and
especially to persons and organizations engaged in work for the blind,
information obtained as a result of such surveys;
(5) Designate as provided in section
107b of this title the State agency for the blind in each State, or, in any
State in which there is no such agency, some other public agency to issue licenses
to blind persons who are citizens of the United States for the operating of
vending facilities on Federal and other property in such State for the
vending of newspapers, periodicals, confections, tobacco products, foods,
beverages, and other articles or services dispensed automatically or manually
and prepared on or off the premises in accordance with all applicable health
laws, as determined by the State licensing agency, and including the vending
or exchange of chances for any lottery authorized by State law and conducted
by an agency of a State; and
(6) Through the Commission
(A) conduct periodic evaluations of
the program authorized by this chapter, including upward mobility and other
training required by section 107d-4 of this title, and
(B) take such other steps, including
the issuance of such rules and regulations, as may be necessary or desirable
in carrying out the provisions of this chapter.
(b) Duty of State licensing agencies
to prefer blind The State licensing agency shall, in issuing each such
license for the operation of a vending facility, give preference to blind
persons who are in need of employment. Each such license shall be issued for
an indefinite period but may be terminated by the State licensing agency if
it is satisfied that the facility is not being operated in accordance with
the rules and regulations prescribed by such licensing agency. Such licenses
shall be issued only to applicants who are blind within the meaning of
section 107e of this title.
(c) Selection of location and type of
facility The State licensing agency designated by the Secretary is
authorized, with the approval of the head of the department or agency in
control of the maintenance, operation, and protection of the Federal property
on which the facility is to be located but subject to regulations prescribed
pursuant to section 107 of this title, to select a location for such facility
and the type of facility to be provided.
(d) Buildings occupied by United
States departments, agencies, and instrumentalities required to provide sites
for facilities; exceptions
(1) After January 1, 1975, no
department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States shall undertake
to acquire by ownership, rent, lease, or to otherwise occupy, in whole or in
part, any building unless, after consultation with the head of such
department, agency, or instrumentality and the State licensing agency, it is
determined by the Secretary that
(A) such building includes a
satisfactory site or sites for the location and operation of a vending
facility by a blind person, or
(B) if a building is to be
constructed, substantially altered, or renovated, or in the case of a
building that is already occupied on such date by such department, agency, or
instrumentality, is to be substantially altered or renovated for use by such
department, agency, or instrumentality, the design for such construction,
substantial alteration, or renovation includes a satisfactory site or sites
for the location and operation of a vending facility by a blind person. Each
such department, agency, or instrumentality shall provide notice to the
appropriate State licensing agency of its plans for occupation, acquisition,
renovation, or relocation of a building adequate to permit such State agency
to determine whether such building includes a satisfactory site or sites for
a vending facility.
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1)
shall not apply
(A) when the Secretary and the State
licensing agency determine that the number of people using the property is or
will be insufficient to support a vending facility, or
(B) to any privately owned building,
any part of which is leased by any department, agency, or instrumentality of
the United States and in which,
(i) prior
to the execution of such lease, the lessor or any
of his tenants had in operation a restaurant or other food facility in a part
of the building not included in such lease, and
(ii) the operation of such a vending
facility by a blind person would be in proximate and substantial direct
competition with such restaurant or other food facility except that each such
department, agency, and instrumentality shall make every effort to lease
property in privately owned buildings capable of accommodating a vending
facility.
(3) For the purposes of this
subsection, the term "satisfactory site" means an area determined
by the Secretary to have sufficient space, electrical and plumbing outlets,
and such other facilities as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe, for
the location and operation of a vending facility by a blind person.
(e) State licensing agency in States
having vocational rehabilitation plans In any State having an approved plan
for vocational rehabilitation pursuant to the Vocational Rehabilitation Act
or the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.], the State
licensing agency designated under paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of this
section shall be the State agency designated under section 101(a)(2)(A) of
such Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [29 U.S.C. 721(a)(2)(A)].
Sec. 107b. Application for
designation as State licensing agency; cooperation with Secretary; furnishing
initial stock
A State agency for the blind or other
State agency desiring to be designated as the licensing agency shall, with
the approval of the chief executive of the State, make application to the
Secretary and agree -
(1) to cooperate with the Secretary
in carrying out the purpose of this chapter;
(2) to provide for each licensed
blind person such vending facility equipment, and adequate initial stock of
suitable articles to be vended therefrom, as may be
necessary: Provided,however, That such equipment
and stock may be owned by the licensing agency for use of the blind, or by
the blind individual to whom the license is issued: And provided further,
That if ownership of such equipment is vested in the blind licensee,
(A) the State licensing agency shall
retain a first option to repurchase such equipment and
(B) in the event such individual dies
or for any other reason ceases to be a licensee or transfers to another
vending facility, ownership of such equipment shall become vested in the
State licensing agency (for transfer to a successor licensee) subject to an
obligation on the part of the State licensing agency to pay to such
individual (or to his estate) the fair value of his interest therein as later
determined in accordance with regulations of the State licensing agency and
after opportunity for a fair hearing;
(3) that if any funds are set aside,
or caused to be set aside, from the net proceeds of the operation of the
vending facilities such funds shall be set aside, or caused to be set aside,
only to the extent necessary for and may be used only for the purposes of
(A) maintenance and replacement of
equipment;
(B) the purchase of new equipment;
(C) management services;
(D) assuring a fair minimum return to
operators of vending facilities; and
(E) retirement or pension funds,
health insurance contributions, and provision for paid sick leave and vacation
time, if it is determined by a majority vote of blind licensees licensed by
such State agency, after such agency provides to each such licensee full
information on all matters relevant to such proposed program, that funds
under this paragraph shall be set aside for such purposes: Provided, however,
That in no event shall the amount of such funds to be set aside from the net
proceeds of any vending facility exceed a reasonable amount which shall be
determined by the Secretary;
(4) to make such reports in such form
and containing such information as the Secretary may from time to time
require and to comply with such provisions as he may from time to time find
necessary to assure the correctness and verification of such reports;
(5) to issue such regulations,
consistent with the provisions of this chapter, as may be necessary for the
operation of this program;
(6) to provide to any blind licensee
dissatisfied with any action arising from the operation or administration of
the vending facility program an opportunity for a fair hearing, and to agree
to submit the grievances of any blind licensee not otherwise resolved by such
hearing to arbitration as provided in section 107d-1 of this title.
Sec. 107b-1. Access to information
with State licensing agencies; election and responsibilities of Committee of
Blind Vendors
In addition to other requirements
imposed in this title and in this chapter upon State licensing agencies, such
agencies shall -
(1) provide to each blind licensee
access to all relevant financial data, including quarterly and annual
financial reports, on the operation of the State vending facility program;
(2) conduct the biennial election
of a Committee of Blind Vendors who shall be fully representative of all
blind licensees in the State program, and
(3) insure that such committee's
responsibilities include
(A) participation, with the State
agency, in major administrative decisions and policy and program development,
(B) receiving grievances of blind
licensees and serving as advocates for such licensees,
(C) participation, with the State
agency, in the development and administration of a transfer and promotion
system for blind licensees,
(D) participation, with the State
agency, in developing training and retraining programs, and
(E) sponsorship, with the
assistance of the State agency, of meetings and instructional conferences for
blind licensees.
Sec. 107b-2. Omitted
The Comptroller General is
authorized to conduct regular and periodic audits of all nonappropriated
fund activities which receive income from vending machines on Federal
property, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe. In the
conduct of such audits he and his duly authorized representatives shall have
access to any relevant books, documents, papers, accounts, and records of
such activities as he deems necessary.
Sec. 107c. Repealed.
(a) Personal services, rent,
printing, etc. The Secretary is authorized to make such expenditures out of
any money appropriated therefor (including
expenditures for personal services and rent at the seat of government and
elsewhere, books of reference and periodicals, for printing and binding, and
for traveling expenses) as he may deem necessary to carry out the provisions
of this chapter.
(b) Preference to blind persons in
employment The Secretary shall, in employing such additional personnel as may
be necessary, give preference to blind persons who are capable of discharging
the required duties.
Sec. 107d-1. Grievances of blind
licensees
(a) Hearing and arbitration
Any blind licensee who is
dissatisfied with any action arising from the operation or administration of
the vending facility program may submit to a State licensing agency a request
for a full evidentiary hearing, which shall be provided by such agency in accordance
with section 107b(6) of this title. If such blind licensee is dissatisfied
with any action taken or decision rendered as a result of such hearing, he
may file a complaint with the Secretary who shall convene a panel to
arbitrate the dispute pursuant to section 107d-2 of this title, and the
decision of such panel shall be final and binding on the parties except as
otherwise provided in this chapter.
(b) Noncompliance by Federal
departments and agencies; complaints by State licensing agencies; arbitration
Whenever any State licensing agency
determines that any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United
States that has control of the maintenance, operation, and protection of
Federal property is failing to comply with the provisions of this chapter or
any regulations issued thereunder (including a
limitation on the placement or operation of a vending facility as described
in section 107(b) of this title and the Secretary's determination thereon)
such licensing agency may file a complaint with the Secretary who shall
convene a panel to arbitrate the dispute pursuant to section 107d-2 of this
title, and the decision of such panel shall be final and binding on the
parties except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
Sec. 107d-2. Arbitration
(a) Notice and hearing
Upon receipt of a complaint filed
under section 107d-1 of this title, the Secretary shall convene an ad hoc
arbitration panel as provided in subsection (b) of this section. Such panel
shall, in accordance with the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 5 of
title 5, give notice, conduct a hearing, and render its decision which shall
be subject to appeal and review as a final agency action for purposes of
chapter 7 of such title 5.
(b) Composition of panel;
designation of chairman; termination of violations
(1) The arbitration panel convened
by the Secretary to hear grievances of blind licensees shall be composed of
three members appointed as follows:
(A) one individual designated by
the State licensing agency;
(B) one individual designated by
the blind licensee; and
(C) one individual, not employed by
the State licensing agency or, where appropriate, its parent agency, who
shall serve as chairman, jointly designated by the members appointed under
subparagraphs (A) and (B).
If any party fails to designate a
member under subparagraph (1)(A), (B), or (C), the Secretary shall designate
such member on behalf of such party.
(2) The arbitration panel convened
by the Secretary to hear complaints filed by a State licensing agency shall
be composed of three members appointed as follows:
(A) one individual, designated by
the State licensing agency;
(B) one individual, designated by
the head of the Federal department, agency, or instrumentality controlling the
Federal property over which the dispute arose; and
(C) one individual, not employed by
the Federal department, agency, or instrumentality controlling the Federal
property over which the dispute arose, who shall serve as chairman, jointly
designated by the members appointed under subparagraphs (A) and (B).
If any party fails to designate a
member under subparagraph (2)(A), (B), or (C), the Secretary shall designate
such member on behalf of such party. If the panel appointed pursuant to
paragraph (2) finds that the acts or practices of any such department,
agency, or instrumentality are in violation of this chapter, or any
regulation issued thereunder, the head of any such
department, agency, or instrumentality shall cause such acts or practices to
be terminated promptly and shall take such other action as may be necessary
to carry out the decision of the panel.
(c) Publication of decisions in
Federal Register The decisions of a panel convened by the Secretary pursuant
to this section shall be matters of public record and shall be published in
the Federal Register.
(d) Payment of costs by the
Secretary The Secretary shall pay all reasonable costs of arbitration under
this section in accordance with a schedule of fees and expenses he shall
publish in the Federal Register.
Sec. 107d-3. Vending machine income
(a) Accrual to blind licensee and
alternatively to State agency; ceiling on amount for individual licensee
In accordance with the provisions
of subsection (b) of this section, vending machine income obtained from the
operation of vending machines on Federal property shall accrue
(1) to the blind licensee operating
a vending facility on such property, or
(2) in the event there is no blind
licensee operating such facility on such property, to the State agency in
whose State the Federal property is located, for the uses designated in
subsection (c) of this section, except that with respect to income which
accrues under clause (1) of this subsection, the Commissioner may prescribe
regulations imposing a ceiling on income from such vending machines for an
individual blind licensee. In the event such a ceiling is imposed, no blind
licensee shall receive less vending machine income under such ceiling than he
was receiving on January 1, 1974. No limitation shall be imposed on income
from vending machines, combined to create a vending facility, which are
maintained, serviced, or operated by a blind licensee. Any amounts received
by a blind licensee that are in excess of the amount permitted to accrue to
him under any ceiling imposed by the Commissioner shall be disbursed to the
appropriate State agency under clause (2) of this subsection and shall be
used by such agency in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.
(b)Direct competition between
vending machine and vending facility; proportion of accrued income from such
vending machines for individual licensee
(1) After January 1, 1975, 100 per
centum of all vending machine income from vending machines on Federal property
which are in direct competition with a blind vending facility shall accrue as
specified in subsection (a) of this section. "Direct competition"
as used in this section means the existence of any vending machines or
facilities operated on the same premises as a blind vending facility except
that vending machines or facilities operated in areas serving employees the
majority of whom normally do not have direct access to the blind vending
facility shall not be considered in direct competition with the blind vending
facility. After January 1, 1975, 50 per centum of all vending machine income
from vending machines on Federal property which are not in direct competition
with a blind vending facility shall accrue as specified in subsection (a) of
this section, except that with respect to Federal property at which at least
50 per centum of the total hours worked on the premises occurs during periods
other than normal working hours, 30 per centum of such income shall so
accrue.
(2) The head of each department, agency,
and instrumentality of the United States shall insure compliance with this
section with respect to buildings, installations, and facilities under his
control, and shall be responsible for collection of, and accounting for, such
vending machine income.
(c) Disposal of accrued vending
machine income by State licensing agency
All vending machine income which
accrues to a State licensing agency pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section shall be used to establish retirement or pension plans, for health insurance
contributions, and for provision of paid sick leave and vacation time for
blind licensees in such State, subject to a vote of blind licensees as
provided under section 107b(3)(E) of this title. Any vending machine income
remaining after application of the first sentence of this subsection shall be
used for the purposes specified in sections 107b(3)(A), (B), (C), and (D) of
this title, and any assessment charged to blind licensees by a State
licensing agency shall be reduced pro rata in an amount equal to the total of
such remaining vending machine income.
(d) Income from vending machines in
certain locations excepted Subsections (a) and (b)(1) of this section shall
not apply to income from vending machines within retail sales outlets under
the control of exchange or ships' stores systems authorized by title 10, or
to income from vending machines operated by the Veterans Canteen Service, or
to income from vending machines not in direct competition with a blind
vending facility at individual locations, installations, or facilities on
Federal property the total of which at such individual locations,
installations, or facilities does not exceed $3,000 annually.
(e) Regulations establishing
priority for operation of cafeterias The Secretary, through the Commissioner,
shall prescribe regulations to establish a priority for the operation of
cafeterias on Federal property by blind licensees when he determines, on an
individual basis and after consultation with the head of the appropriate
installation, that such operation can be provided at a reasonable cost with
food of a high quality comparable to that currently provided to employees,
whether by contract or otherwise.
(f) Existing arrangements more
favorable to blind licensees unaffected
This section shall not operate to
preclude preexisting or future arrangements, or regulations of departments,
agencies, or instrumentalities of the United States, under which blind
licensees
(1) receive a greater percentage or
amount of vending machine income than that specified in subsection (b)(1) of
this section, or
(2) receive vending machine income
from individual locations, installations, or facilities on Federal property
the total of which at such individual locations, installations, or facilities
does not exceed $3,000 annually.
(g) Regulations for compliance The
Secretary shall take such action and promulgate such regulations as he deems
necessary to assure compliance with this section.
Sec. 107d-4. Training programs for maximum
vocational potential for blind
The Commissioner shall insure,
through promulgation of appropriate regulations, that uniform and effective
training programs, including on-the-job training, are provided for blind
individuals, through services under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [29 U.S.C.
701 et seq.]. He shall further insure that State agencies provide programs
for upward mobility (including further education and additional training or
retraining for improved work opportunities) for all trainees under this
chapter, and that follow-along services are provided to such trainees to
assure that their maximum vocational potential is achieved.
Sec. 107e. Definitions
As used in this chapter -
(1) "blind person" means a
person whose central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye
with correcting lenses or whose visual acuity, if better than 20/200, is
accompanied by a limit to the field of vision in the better eye to such a
degree that its widest diameter subtends an angle of no greater than twenty
degrees. In determining whether an individual is blind, there shall be an
examination by a physician skilled in diseases of the eye, or by an
optometrist, whichever the individual shall select;
(2) "Commissioner" means
the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration;
(3) "Federal property"
means any building, land, or other real property owned, leased, or occupied
by any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States (including
the Department of Defense and the United States Postal Service), or any other
instrumentality wholly owned by the United States, or by any department or
agency of the District of Columbia or any territory or possession of the
United States;
(4)"Secretary" means the
Secretary of Education;
(5) "State" means a State,
territory, possession, Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia;
(6) "United States"
includes the several States, territories, and possessions of the United
States, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia;
(7) "vending facility"
means automatic vending machines, cafeterias, snack bars, cart services,
shelters, counters, and such other appropriate auxiliary equipment as the
Secretary may by regulation prescribe as being necessary for the sale of the
articles or services described in section 107a(a)(5) of this title and which
may be operated by blind licensees; and
(8) "vending machine
income" means receipts (other than those of a blind licensee) from
vending machine operations on Federal property, after cost of goods sold
(including reasonable service and maintenance costs), where the machines are
operated, serviced, or maintained by, or with the approval of, a department,
agency, or instrumentality of the United States, or commissions paid (other
than to a blind licensee) by a commercial vending concern which operates,
services, and maintains vending machines on Federal property for, or with the
approval of, a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States.
Sec. 107e-1. Repealed.
There is authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for carrying out the provisions of
this chapter.
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