AbilityOne suppliers would pay workers with disabilities like nondisabled peers

AbilityOne suppliers would meet workforce, pay, and career development requirements. Program work hours would include supervisory, technical, and administrative work. Participating workers would perform at least 51 percent of program work hours during the fiscal year. Suppliers meeting all other requirements could request a grace period to replace participating workers who take jobs outside qualified agencies.

Participating workers would count as employees under labor laws, and the commission overseeing AbilityOne would monitor dismissals tied to the work-hour rule. These protections would cover blind workers and workers with significant disabilities doing AbilityOne work. Labor laws would apply even when workers also receive rehabilitation services from their employer. The commission would take corrective action if the work-hour rule caused a firing or forced departure. Monitoring would begin within 90 days after enactment.

The commission could temporarily list certain purchases and would assess worker impacts before certain removals. These rules would cover products and services on AbilityOne's federal purchasing list. Temporary listings could cover emerging business lines, pilot projects, or purchases intended to encourage federal agencies that rarely use AbilityOne. Before removing something the government still plans to buy, the commission would consider supplier capacity, its employment mission, and economic effects on participating workers.

The commission would weigh market prices and employment goals when setting purchase prices. The rules would apply to federal purchases of products and services on the AbilityOne list. The commission could accept a price negotiated between a federal buyer and the authorized supplier. The commission would revise price decisions as market conditions change.

The General Services Administration could use a shared federal contract to buy a service from qualified AbilityOne suppliers. The General Services Administration would consult the AbilityOne commission before using this option. At least two qualified suppliers must perform the same service. Orders could be awarded through competition, but each order's total contract value could not exceed $50 million. This option would exclude vending facilities on federal property covered by the Randolph-Sheppard Act. The shared contract could cover a single contract cycle.