60E-1.004. Employment Centers

(1) Procedures for qualification of employment centers –

(a) To qualify for participation under the Act, an employment center must:

1. Be certified as a qualified agency for the blind or other severely handicapped as provided in Section 413.033, F.S.; and

2. Apply to the CNA to provide the commodities or contractual services under the Act. The application shall be standardized in form, created and furnished by the CNA, and shall be subject to approval by the Department before used.

(b) The Department shall review the documents submitted and determine whether the employment center is eligible to participate under the Act.

(2) Responsibilities –

Each employment center participating under the Act shall:

(a) Maintain its status as a qualified nonprofit agency as defined in Section 413.033, F.S., while providing commodities or contractual services as an employment center;

(b) Furnish commodities or services in accordance with Purchase Office orders; and

(c) Make its records available for inspection at any reasonable time.

(3) The CNA shall ensure employment centers comply with all governing laws and rules regarding commodities or contractual services offered pursuant to Chapter 413, F.S.  Substantial and continuing noncompliance by an employment center in complying with all governing laws or rules that relate to the commodities or contractual services they offer shall result in the employment center being suspended or removed from the procurement list by the Department.

(4) Purchasing offices shall obtain employment center commodities and services as designated on the employment center procurement list maintained electronically by the CNA.

(5) Purchases of commodities and services by purchasing offices from the procurement list are exempt from the competitive bidding requirements of Chapter 287, Part I, F.S.

(6) Allocation and orders –

(a) Allocation is the action to be taken by the CNA to designate the employment center(s) that will produce definite quantities of commodities or perform specific services upon receipt of an order.

(b) Purchase orders for employment center commodities or services shall contain for:

1. Commodities: Name, commodity number, quantity, unit price, and place and time of delivery.

2. Services: Type and location of service required, latest specification, work to be performed, estimated volume, and time for completion.

(c) Purchasing offices shall issue purchase orders providing sufficient time for the CNA to reply, for the order(s) to be placed, and for the employment center to produce the commodity or provide the service.

(d) If a commodity or service is available from both an employment center and under a state term contract, the agency or eligible user may purchase such commodity or service from whichever of the two procurement options provides the best value to the agency or eligible user.

(e) The CNA shall make allocations to the appropriate employment center upon receipt of an order from the purchasing office.

(f) As to commodities or services offered by employment centers on the procurement list, the list shall provide for each the amount of lead time necessary for the employment center to provide the commodities or complete performance of the services listed. If there are changes in the amount of lead time required to provide a commodity or service, the procurement list shall be duly updated by the CNA.

(g) The CNA shall keep the purchasing office informed of any changes in the lead time experienced by its employment centers.

(h) Delays by employment centers in providing commodities or services should be immediately reported by the employment center to the purchasing office. If the CNA or employment center cannot provide the commodities or services within a reasonable time, the purchasing office may proceed to procure those commodities or services from commercial sources. Repeated delays by an employment center in providing designated commodities or services will result in the employment center being removed from the procurement list by the Department.

(7) Certification of exceptions – If the CNA, for whatever reason, cannot provide the commodities or services requested from the procurement list via a purchase order, the CNA will so notify the requesting agency or political subdivision, in writing, and the Department of its determination within one week of receiving the purchase order. Thereafter, the purchasing office may procure such commodities or services as provided in Chapter 287, F.S.

(8) Prices –

(a) The prices included in the procurement list are fair market prices established by the Department.

(b) Prices for commodities include delivery costs (FOB destination), and include packaging, packing and marking as shown on the procurement list.

(c) Price changes for commodities shall apply to all orders placed on or after the effective date of the change.

(9) Shipping and packing –

(a) Commodities shall be shipped freight prepaid (FOB destination). Delivery is accomplished when a shipment is received and accepted by the purchasing agency. Time of delivery is the date the shipment is received.

(b) Standard pack information is stated in item descriptions. In ascending order, standard pack is given in multiples of the unit of issue contained within the inner wrap(s) and the outer shipping container pack.

(10) Payments to be made within thirty (30) days – Payments for products or services of the blind or other severely handicapped shall be made within thirty (30) days after receipt of shipment and a correct invoice or voucher, whichever is later.

(11) Adjustment and cancellation of orders – When the CNA or an employment center fails to comply with the terms of a purchase order, the purchasing office shall make reasonable efforts to negotiate adjustments before taking action to cancel the order. When a purchase order is cancelled for failure to comply with its terms, the CNA shall be notified, and if practicable, requested to reallocate the order. The CNA shall notify the Department of any cancellation of an order and the reason therefor.

(12) Correspondence and inquiries – Routine correspondence or inquiries by purchasing offices concerning deliveries of commodities being shipped from or performance of services by employment centers shall be directed to the CNA.

(13) Quality of merchandise and services produced or provided by employment centers –

(a) Commodities furnished under state specification by employment centers shall be manufactured in strict compliance with such specifications. Where no specifications exist, commodities produced shall be of the highest quality and equal to similar items available on the commercial market. The agency may, at any reasonable time after delivery, inspect the commodities to assess conformity with state specifications or, if no specification exists, determine whether they are of the highest quality and equal to similar items available on the commercial market.

(b) Services provided by blind or other severely handicapped employment centers shall be performed in accordance with state specifications and standards. Where no state specification or standard exists, the services shall be performed in a commercially reasonable manner.

(14) Quality complaints – When the quality of a commodity or service received from employment centers is not commercially reasonable or fails to meet state specifications, the purchasing office shall submit the issue to the CNA. If the commodity or service quality issue(s) cannot be resolved by the employment center and the CNA, the purchasing office shall notify the Department and the Department will determine whether the noncompliance warrants removing the employment center from the procurement list.

(15) Specification changes –

(a) Specifications cited in the procurement list may be periodically revised to keep the list current with industry changes and agency needs. The most recent revision of the procurement list shall be maintained on the CNA’s website as provided in paragraph 60E-1.003(2)(d), F.A.C., above. Upon request by the CNA, the Department shall provide the CNA with the latest applicable commodity or service specification.

(b) Determinations regarding creation of new commodity numbers shall be recommended by the CNA to the Department. The Department shall be responsible for determining whether adding the new commodity number is necessary or if the commodity already falls under an existing number. If the Department determines that assignment of a new commodity number is warranted, it shall assign such number and notify the CNA of such designation, and the CNA shall, in turn, incorporate such change in its listed products.

(16) Deletion of items from the Procurement List –

(a) When the CNA determines that deletion of a commodity or service from its procurement list is warranted, it shall notify the Department and coordinate such deletion with the Department.

(b) Upon deletion of a commodity from the procurement list, employment centers will be required to complete production of any outstanding orders for commodities unless it is determined by the purchasing office issuing an order to be cost effective to release the employment center from having to satisfy its obligation under the order.

(c) For services currently being provided, the CNA shall notify both the Department and corresponding purchasing office of its intent to discontinue performance of the services at least 90 days in advance of the date the CNA will remove the service from the procurement list.

(d) The Department may remove an item from the procurement list without a request from the CNA if the Department determines that none of the employment centers participating in the program are capable of providing the commodity or service.

Rulemaking Authority 413.035, 413.036 FS. Law Implemented 413.035, 413.036 FS. History–New 10-12-81, Formerly 13G-1.04, 13G-1.004, Amended 12-31-95, 7-9-97, Amended 10-22-06, 3-2-17.