§8501 — Title 41 Public Contracts | U.S. Code

Summary

Defines key words used in the chapter so readers know who and what the rules cover. Blind means a person whose best eye, even with glasses, cannot see better than 20/200 or whose field of vision is so narrow that the widest part is 20 degrees or less. Committee means the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled. Direct labor means the hands-on work to prepare, process, pack a product, or perform a service, and it does not include supervision, administration, inspection, or shipping. Federal Government or an entity of the Federal Government includes parts of Congress and the courts, military departments and executive agencies, the United States Postal Service, and certain military nonappropriated fund units. Other severely disabled and severely disabled individual mean a person (or group) with a physical or mental disability, other than blindness, that the Committee — after consulting federal and nonfederal disability groups — finds is a substantial employment handicap and prevents normal competitive work now. Qualified nonprofit agency for the blind and qualified nonprofit agency for other severely disabled must be legally formed in the U.S. or a State, operate for the benefit of the disabled group, not let net income go to owners, follow any job safety rules from the Secretary of Labor, and have blind or other severely disabled people perform at least 75 percent of the direct labor hours in making products or providing services during the fiscal year. State includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Title 41, §8501

Public Contracts — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

In this chapter:

(1)The term “blind” refers to an individual or class of individuals 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 20 degrees.

(2)The term “Committee” means the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled established under section 8502 of this title.

(3)The term “direct labor”—

(A)includes all work required for preparation, processing, and packing of a product, or work directly relating to the performance of a service; but

(B)does not include supervision, administration, inspection, or shipping.

(4)The terms “entity of the Federal Government” and “Federal Government” include an entity of the legislative or judicial branch, a military department or executive agency (as defined in section 102 and 105 of title 5, respectively), the United States Postal Service, and a nonappropriated fund instrumentality under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces.

(5)The term “other severely disabled” means an individual or class of individuals under a physical or mental disability, other than blindness, which (according to criteria established by the Committee after consultation with appropriate entities of the Federal Government and taking into account the views of non-Federal Government entities representing the disabled) constitutes a substantial handicap to employment and is of a nature that prevents the individual from currently engaging in normal competitive employment.

(6)The term “qualified nonprofit agency for other severely disabled” means an agency—

(A)(i)organized under the laws of the United States or a State;

(ii)operated in the interest of severely disabled individuals who are not blind; and

(iii)of which no part of the net income of the agency inures to the benefit of a shareholder or other individual;

(B)that complies with any applicable occupational health and safety standard prescribed by the Secretary of Labor; and

(C)that in the production of products and in the provision of services (whether or not the products or services are procured under this chapter) during the fiscal year employs blind or other severely disabled individuals for at least 75 percent of the hours of direct labor required for the production or provision of the products or services.

(7)The term “qualified nonprofit agency for the blind” means an agency—

(A)(i)organized under the laws of the United States or a State;

(ii)operated in the interest of blind individuals; and

(iii)of which no part of the net income of the agency inures to the benefit of a shareholder or other individual;

(B)that complies with any applicable occupational health and safety standard prescribed by the Secretary of Labor; and

(C)that in the production of products and in the provision of services (whether or not the products or services are procured under this chapter) during the fiscal year employs blind individuals for at least 75 percent of the hours of direct labor required for the production or provision of the products or services.

(8)The term “severely disabled individual” means an individual or class of individuals under a physical or mental disability, other than blindness, which (according to criteria established by the Committee after consultation with appropriate entities of the Federal Government and taking into account the views of non-Federal Government entities representing the disabled) constitutes a substantial handicap to employment and is of a nature that prevents the individual from currently engaging in normal competitive employment.

(9)The term “State” includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 8501(1)41:48b(1).June 25, 1938, ch. 697, § 5, 52 Stat. 1196; Pub. L. 92–28, § 1, June 23, 1971, 85 Stat. 81; Pub. L. 93–358, § 1(3), July 25, 1974, 88 Stat. 393; Pub. L. 94–273, § 3(22), Apr. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 377. 8501(2)41:46(a) (words in parentheses before par. (1)).June 25, 1938, ch. 697, § 1(a) (words in parentheses before par. (1)), 52 Stat. 1196; Pub. L. 92–28, § 1, June 23, 1971, 85 Stat. 77. 8501(3)41:48b(5). 8501(4)41:48b(7). 8501(5)41:48b(2). 8501(6)41:48b(4). 8501(7)41:48b(3). 8501(8)41:48b(2). 8501(9)41:48b(8). In this chapter, the word “disabled” is substituted for “handicapped” for consistency with the name of the Committee. The word “product” is substituted for “commodity” to reflect the current usage of the items produced in the Committee’s program. In this section, the text of 41:48b(6) is omitted as unnecessary. In paragraph (9), the words “the Northern Mariana Islands” are substituted for “the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands” because the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands terminated. See 48 U.S.C. note prec. 1681. However, section 502(a)(2) of the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America (48 U.S.C. 1801 note) provided that laws in existence on the

Effective Date

of section 502 that were applicable to Guam and that were of general application to the several States would apply to the Northern Mariana Islands. The Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia are not included because although they were part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, they are independent entities and not part of the United States.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Contracting With Employers of Persons With Disabilities Pub. L. 109–364, div. A, title VIII, § 856(a), (d), Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2347, 2349, provided that: “(a) Inapplicability of Certain Laws.—“(1) Inapplicability of the randolph-sheppard act to contracts and subcontracts for military dining facility support services covered by javits-wagner-o’day act.—The Randolph-Sheppard Act (20 U.S.C. 107 et seq.) does not apply to full food services, mess attendant services, or services supporting the operation of a military dining facility that, as of the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 17, 2006], were services on the procurement list established under section 2 of the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act ([former] 41 U.S.C. 47) [now 41 U.S.C. 8503]. “(2) Inapplicability of the javits-wagner-o’day act to contracts for the operation of a military dining facility.—(A) The Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act ([former] 41 U.S.C. 46 et seq.) [now 41 U.S.C. 8501 et seq.] does not apply at the prime contract level to any contract entered into by the Department of Defense as of the date of the enactment of this Act with a State licensing agency under the Randolph-Sheppard Act (20 U.S.C. 107 et seq.) for the operation of a military dining facility. “(B) The Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act [now 41 U.S.C. 8501 et seq.] shall apply to any subcontract entered into by a Department of Defense contractor for full food services, mess attendant services, and other services supporting the operation of a military dining facility. “(3) Repeal of superseded law.— [Repealed section 853(a), (b) of Pub. L. 108–375, 118 Stat. 2021.] “(d) Definitions.—In this section:“(1) The term ‘State licensing agency’ means any agency designated by the Secretary of Education under section 2(a)(5) of the Randolph-Sheppard Act (20 U.S.C. 107a(a)(5)). “(2) The term ‘military dining facility’ means a facility owned, operated, leased, or wholly controlled by the Department of Defense and used to provide dining services to members of the Armed Forces, including a cafeteria, military mess hall, military troop dining facility, or any similar dining facility operated for the purpose of providing meals to members of the Armed Forces.” Statement of Policy and Report Concerning the Operation and Management of Certain Military Facilities Regarding the Blind or Severely Disabled Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title VIII, § 848(b), (c), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3395, provided that: “(b) Statement of Policy.—The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Education, and the Chairman of the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled shall jointly issue a statement of policy related to the implementation of the Randolph-Sheppard Act (20 U.S.C. 107 et seq.) and the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Act ([former] 41 U.S.C. 48 [46 et seq.]) [now 41 U.S.C. 8501 et seq.] within the Department of Defense and the Department of Education. The joint statement of policy shall specifically address the application of those Acts to both operation and management of all or any part of a military mess hall, military troop dining facility, or any similar dining facility operated for the purpose of providing meals to members of the Armed Forces, and shall take into account and address, to the extent practicable, the positions acceptable to persons representing programs implemented under each Act. “(c) Report.—Not later than April 1, 2006, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Education, and the Chairman of the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives a report describing the joint statement of policy issued under subsection (b), with such findings and recommendations as the Secretaries consider appropriate.”

§8501 Definitions