Compliance Manual

This manual is published to provide Commission staff, NIB, NISH, nonprofit agencies and the interested public with a reference work on the practices and procedures used by Commission staff compliance personnel relative to conducting compliance reviews at nonprofit agencies participating in the AbilityOne Program. It contains instructions to Commission staff on the requirements for medical documentation, competitive employment assessments, direct labor ratio determinations and reviewing U.S. Department of Labor requirements, as well as other material in the nature of information, interpretation and examples of the processes involved and outlines the current procedures which the staff is required or authorized to follow in the normal review of a nonprofit agency.
The manual does not have the force of law or the force of the rules in Title 41 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Among the requirements for a nonprofit agency to participate in the AbilityOne Program, 75 percent of its total direct labor hours must be performed by people who are blind or significantly disabled. To fulfill this and other compliance requirements successfully, nonprofit agency personnel must fully understand the Commission’s definitions of blind and significant disabilities and the Commission’s requirements for documentation of thoseindividuals who are being counted towards the direct labor ratio.
In light of the differences in definitions and Program requirements, the chapter on medical documentation and competitive employability is divided into separate sections for people who are blind and for people who are have other significant disabilities. The law allows nonprofits associated with National Industries for the Blind (NIB) to count only the direct labor hours of people who are blind towards the 75 percent direct labor ratio, while nonprofits that are affiliated with NISH may count people who are blind as well as people with significant disabilities. NISH-affiliated nonprofits that employ people who are blind should also be familiar with the section on people who are blind, as it contains the Commission’s requirements that must be met for the nonprofit’s blind employees.
Subsequent changes in practice and other revisions will be incorporated in the form of substitute or additional pages for the manual.
Suggestions for improving the form and content of the manual are always welcome.
They should be addressed to:
U.S. AbilityOne Commission
1421 Jefferson Davis Hwy
Jefferson Plaza 2, Suite 10800
Arlington, VA 22202-3259
Or they may be sent via email to: info@abilityone.gov