§ 51-5.2 Authorization/deauthorization as a mandatory source. ( a ) The Committee may authorize one or more nonprofit agencies to provide a commodity or service on the Procurement List. Nonprofit agencies that have been authorized as mandatory sources for a commodity or service on the Procurement List are the only authorized sources for providing that commodity or service until the nonprofit agency has been deauthorized by the Committee in accordance with the Committee's policies and procedures. To meet the needs of the ordering Federal agency, the central nonprofit agencies may distribute the commodity or service to one or more nonprofit agencies in accordance with § 51-3.4(a) of this chapter.
( b ) After a determination of suitability for approving items on the Procurement List, the Committee will authorize the most capable nonprofit agencies as the mandatory source(s) for commodities or services. Commodities and services may be purchased from nonprofit agencies; central nonprofit agencies; Government central supply agencies, such as the Defense Logistics Agency, Department of Veterans Affairs, and General Services Administration; and certain commercial distributors. (Identification of the authorized sources for a particular commodity may be obtained from the central nonprofit agencies indicated by the Procurement List which is found at *www.abilityone.gov .*)
( c ) Contracting activities shall require that their contracts with other organizations or individuals, such as prime vendors providing commodities that are already on the Procurement List to Federal agencies, require that the vendor orders these commodities from the sources authorized by the Committee.
( d ) Procedures for obtaining military resale commodities are contained in § 51-6.4 of this chapter.
( e ) Contracting activities procuring services, which have included within them services on the Procurement List, shall require their contractors for the larger service requirement to procure the included Procurement List services from nonprofit agencies authorized by the Committee.
( f ) If the Committee deauthorizes a nonprofit agency as the mandatory source, the deauthorized nonprofit agency shall ensure as many of its employees who are blind or have other significant disabilities as practicable remain on the job with the new authorized successor nonprofit agency. The successor nonprofit agency is required to offer a right of first refusal of employment under the successor contract to current employees of the deauthorized nonprofit agency who are blind or have other significant disabilities for positions for which they are qualified. The deauthorized nonprofit agency shall disclose necessary personnel records in accordance with all applicable laws protecting the privacy of the employee to allow the successor nonprofit agency to conduct interviews with those identified employees. If selected employees agree, the deauthorized nonprofit agency shall release them at a mutually agreeable date and negotiate transfer of their earned fringe benefits and other relevant employment and Program eligibility information to the successor nonprofit agency. The requirement for a successor nonprofit agency to offer the right of first refusal also applies to an authorized nonprofit agency that is no longer serving as the mandatory source because of a competitive distribution under § 51-3.4(d) of this chapter.
[56 FR 48981, Sept. 26, 1991; 56 FR 64002, Dec. 6, 1991, as amended at 59 FR 59343, Nov. 16, 1994; 60 FR 54200, Oct. 20, 1995; 63 FR 16439, Apr. 3, 1998; 89 FR 20339, Mar. 22, 2024]