Business Enterprise Program

Operations Manual

Michigan Commission for the Blind

201 N Washington Square

P O Box 30652

Lansing, MI 48909

Page 1

Commission for the Blind

Business Enterprise Program Operations Manual

March 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. What is this book?
  1. What do all the words and terms in this book mean?

Rule Reference: 1 Definitions

  1. What is the Business Enterprise Program (BEP) and from where did it come?

Rule Reference: 2, Program administration

  1. How can I become a BEP operator?

Rules Reference: 5, Program entrance Requirements

  1. What is BEP Manager Training (BMT)?

Rule Reference: 6, Vending facility training

  1. What is an On-the-Job Experience (OJE)?

Rule Reference: 7, Vending facility OJE

BEST team

  1. How does an operator become an OJE trainer?

OJE trainer eligibility requirements

OJE trainer standards

Include 1995 OJE trainer policy?

  1. What is cafeteria training?

Rule Reference: 8, Cafeteria training

Requirements for someone outside the BEP

Requirements for a BEP licensee

  1. How does a licensed BEP Operator become a cafeteria operator?
  1. Arethere other circumstances whereby an operator without cafeteria certification can assume responsibility for a cafeteria?
  1. How does one become a licensed operator?

Rule Reference: 10, License issuance and eligibility requirements

Rule Reference: 11, Licensing Procedure

How does a licensed operator become a cafeteria operator?

Are there circumstances whereby an operator without cafeteria certification can assume responsibility for a cafeteria?

  1. What is the probationary period?
  1. What does it mean to be licensed?

Rule Reference: 12, License entitlements

  1. How does one learn about facilities that are available?

Rule Reference: 48, Bid process generally

Rule Reference: 49, Bidding procedure

  1. What is the difference between a mandated and a non-mandated facility?
  1. What are the different types or classes of facilities?

Discussion of each type of facility

Profit expectation policy

  1. Can there be more than one BEP facility in a building?

EOC policy

  1. How can I find out what’s going on in the BEP program?

Rule Reference: 49, Bid Line

Operator Information Line

MCB web site

  1. What is the process for awarding a facility?

Rule Reference: 50, Bidding procedure

Rule Reference: 51, Bid award for vending facility

Bid award for non-mandated facilities

Operator Selection System

Contested facility award policy
  1. What happens when I assume responsibility for a new facility?

Upward mobility

Rule Reference: 22, Inventory Process

Agreement

Assigned inventory level

Adjusting inventory dollar value for inflation

Inventory process

The agreement

Facility agreement check list

“Guide to Starting a New Business in Michigan”

Federal Employer Identification Number

  1. What is a temporary operator?
  1. Who is my landlord?

Federal Permit (see also Appendix H)

Memorandum of Understanding (see also Appendix G)

Landlord Evaluation

  1. What level of customer service am I expected to provide?

Hours of operation

Vending machine operation

Vending machine refunds

Product expiration or manufacturer’s sell by date

  1. What am I expected to provide with regard to catering and coffee service?

Coffee service

Catering

  1. How does one lose one’s license?
  1. What is license termination?

Rule Reference: 13, License termination

  1. What is license suspension?

Rule Reference: 14, License suspensions

  1. What is license revocation?

Rule Reference: 15, License revocation

  1. What steps must the commission take to start the license termination procedure?

Rule Reference: 16, License termination procedure

  1. What are the commission’s general responsibilities to the operators?

Rule Reference: 17, Commission responsibilities generally

  1. What are the commission’s responsibilities regarding my facility and equipment?

Rule Reference: 18, Commission responsibilities re: site and equipment

Rule Reference: 19, Right and title to equipment

Rule Reference: 20, Vending machine income

Facility responsibilities

Equipment responsibilities

Potential sites

Facility renovations

Facility equipment

Leased equipment

Equipment transfer

Other personal equipment

  1. As an operator, what kind of interaction will I have withthe commission?

Rule Reference: 21, Promotional agent

Field activity reports which may also be called site visits

Annual evaluation

Master plan

  1. What are my general responsibilities to the commission?

Rule Reference: 24, licensee obligations generally

Agree to follow the rules

One facility

Respect the equipment

Maintain the inventory

Responsible for debts of the facility

Facility renovation and maintenance

Authorized representatives of the commission

Vending facility merchandise

Vending facility employees

Insurances and employer responsibilities

Hours of operation

Training

Federal and state law

Failure to follow the rules

Discrimination is banned

  1. What kinds of business insurance must I have to operate a BEP vending facility?

Rule Reference: 25, Licensee insurance requirements

General liability insurance

Business insurance for equipment stored at the licensee’s facility

Other business insurance

  1. What health and safety rules I must follow?

Rule Reference: 26, Licensee health and safety obligations

Health license

Health inspections

  1. What reports must I submit to the commission?

Rule Reference: 27, Licensee reporting requirements

Rule Reference: 34, Licensee health insurance

Reporting requirement

Health insurance deductions

Other allowable expenses

  1. What is the telephony system and how do I use it?

User ID and password

Telephony system access

Bid Line

Enter a vending facility monthly report

Operator information exchange line

Other menu options

  1. What fees must I pay to the commission?

Rule Reference: 28, Licensee fees

How the set-aside fee (SAF) is determined

Monthly payment and the set-aside fee

Repayment agreement payment

Nonsufficient funds check

SAF billing process

  1. How often do I have to inventory my supplies, product and equipment?

Rule Reference: 29, Licensee inventory obligations

Rule Reference: 22 1I, (d), 2, 3, 4, & 5; 22 Initial vending facility inventory

Stock adjustment – overage/shortage

Inventory and the annual evaluation

Inventory and the vending facility monthly report

Product freshness

  1. How can I measure the success of my business?

Rule Reference: 30, Licensee profit expectation

Profit percentage expectation policy

Cost of goods sold

Inventory turnover

  1. What particular responsibilities do I have if I hire employees?

Workers’ Disability Compensation Insurance

Workers’ compensation documentation

Unemployment Insurance

Employer taxes

Independent contractor or employee?

  1. What is my responsibility if I am a victim of theft or if my equipment fails?
  1. What are my responsibilities in terms of the equipment in my facility?

Rule Reference: 31, Licensee equipment responsibilities

Equipment requests

Licensee equipment purchases

Licensee reimbursement for equipment purchased

Equipment in federal facilities

Warranty repairs

Equipment warranties

  1. What do I do if my equipment needs repair?

Rule Reference: 32, Licensee equipment repair

Rule Reference: 33, Licensee repair deductible

Repair process

Vending machine repair

BEP repair deductible policy

  1. What must I do if my equipment needs to be moved?
  1. What qualifies a location or a site to be a vending facility?

Rule Reference: 43, Satellite sites

  1. What is unassigned vending income?
  2. Will the commission help me if I want to learn more about my job or if I need additional training?

Rule Reference: 44, Licensee assistance and training generally

Means of training

Training cost reimbursement

Commission sponsored training

Upward mobility training

Training points and the operator selection system

Operator responsibility

  1. What business resources or support systems outside the commission are available to me?

Professional organizations

Small business organizations

On-line resources

Etc.

  1. How do promotions and demotions occur in the program?

Rule Reference: 47, Licensee promotions and demotions

Promotion

Demotion

  1. What must I do if I need to take a leave of absence?Rule Reference: 35, Leave of absence generally

Applying for a leave of absence

Short term leave of absence

General long term leave of absence conditions

  1. Can I take a leave of absence for maternity, paternity or adoption?

Rule Reference: 36, Maternity, paternity or adoption leave of absence

  1. Can I take a leave of absence for illness or injury?

Rule Reference: 37, Illness or injury leave of absence

  1. Can I take a leave of absence for education?

Rule Reference: 38, Educational leave of absence

  1. Can I take a general, or personal, leave of absence?

Rule Reference: 39, Other leaves of absence

  1. Can I take a leave of absence to try self-employment?

Rule Reference: 40, Leave of absence for self-employment

Requirements for self-employment leave of absence

Retirement benefits

Maintaining self-employment leave of absence

Return from self-employment leave

  1. What must I do to maintain my leave of absence status?

Rule Reference: 41, Maintaining leave of absence

  1. What must I do to return from a leave of absence?

Rule Reference: 42, Return from leave of absence

  1. What retirement benefits do BEP licensee have?

Defined benefit

Defined contribution

  1. What is the Elected Operators Committee (EOC)?

Rule Reference: 52, Committee; creation; powers and duties

Rule Reference: 53, Committee election and representation

Active participation

The Elected Committee

  1. How do I resolve a disagreement with the Commission?

What is due process?

What is the purpose of due process?

What are the steps of due process?

What are the formal steps of due process?

  1. What is an administrative review?

RuleReference: 55, Administrative review

  1. What is a compliance review?

Compliance review process

The compliance review

Compliance review outcomes

Compliance review summary

Proceeding to an evidentiary hearing

  1. What is an administrative hearing?

Rule Reference: 56, Evidentiary hearing

Final agency decision

  1. What is federal arbitration?

RuleReference: 56(10), (11), Evidentiary hearing

Arbitration panel structure

  1. Appendices
  1. Randolph-Sheppard Act
  2. Federal Regulations
  3. Public Act 260
  4. Promulgated Rules (Administrative Version)
  1. Government Organization and Employees Act
  2. Federal and State Highway Legislation
  3. MDOT Memorandum of Understanding
  4. Federal Permit
  5. Michigan State Employees Retirement Act (excerpted)
  1. Elected Operators Committee By-Laws

Page 1

1. WHAT IS THIS BOOK?

This is the Business Enterprise Program (BEP) Operations Manual. Its purpose is to explain the operation of the Business Enterprise Program, the rights and responsibilities of the BEP licensee, the rights and responsibilities of the Commission, and the relationship between the licensee and the commission. It is a resource guide for licensees, the commission and persons interested in the Business Enterprise Program.

The manual is intended as a guide for day-to-day operations in a Business Enterprise Program vending facility. It may also be helpful to refer to the Randolph-Sheppard Act (Appendix A), the Federal Regulations (Appendix B), Public Act 260 (Appendix C) or the promulgated program rules (Appendix D) to learn the basis for the policies, procedures and practices described in this manual.

Page 1

SECTION 2

2. WHAT DO ALL THE TERMS IN THIS BOOK MEAN?

The following definitions from the BEP promulgated rules are provided for your reference.

R 393.1 Definitions.

Rule 1. (1) As used in these rules:

  1. “Academic period” means a semester, trimester, quarter, or other college or university unit of study.
  2. “Act” means 1978 PA 260, as amended, being MCL 393.351.
  3. “Active participation” means the process whereby the elected operators’ committee and its subcommittees, the commission board, and commission staff cooperate in the development and implementation of major administrative decisions and policy as well as program development, as prescribed in the RandolphSheppard act of 1936, as amended, 20 U.S.C. §107 et seq. and the act.
  4. “Administrator” means the program administrator of the business enterprise program.
  5. “Bid” means the process whereby a licensee or a potential licensee records on the business enterprise program telephone system his or her desire to transfer to, or begin operation of, an available location.
  6. “Bid line” means a telephone line that contains a recorded message of all locations which are available during an identified time frame.
  7. “Cafeteria” means a food dispensing facility capable of providing a broad variety of prepared foods and beverages, including hot meals, primarily through the use of a line where the customer serves himself or herself from displayed selections. A cafeteria may be fully automatic or may have limited table service. Table or booth seating facilities are always provided.
  8. “Combined cafeteria/snack bar” means a facility that combines the features of a cafeteria with the features of a snack bar.
  9. “Commission” means the Michigan commission for the blind.
  10. “Commission board” means the policysetting body for the Michigan commission for the blind.
  11. “Committee” means a group of members which is elected to represent all vending facility operators and which is created under R 393.53.
  12. “Dry stand” means a vending facility that does not sell liquids.
  13. “Federal properties” means a building, land, or other real property owned, leased, or occupied by a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States, including the department of defense and the United States postal service, or an instrumentality wholly owned by the United States.
  14. “Hearings office” means the office within the department charged with the responsibility of conducting fair and impartial hearings.
  15. “Hearings officer” means a person designated to conduct hearings and issue proposed decisions on behalf of the commission pursuant to 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201.
  16. “Highway vending” means a vending facility that consists of 1 or more state of Michigan highway rest areas or welcome centers.
  17. “Initial merchandise inventory” means merchandise necessary for establishing a licensee in a vending facility, and shall include bill changer change and coin mechanism change.
  18. “License” means a written instrument that the commission issues to a blind person that authorizes the person to operate a vending facility on federal, state, or other property.
  19. “Licensee” means a blind person who the commission licenses to operate an assigned vending facility.
  20. “Management services and supervision” means and includes inspection, quality control, consultation, accounting, regulating, inservice training, and related services provided on a systematic basis provided to support and improve RandolphSheppard small business enterprises operated by blind individuals. “Management services and supervision” does not include routine services or costs that pertain to the ongoing operation of an individual facility after the initial establishment period.
  21. “Mandated” facility means a facility in which blind persons are granted priority to operate concessions under the RandolphSheppard act of 1936, as amended, 20 U.S.C. §107 et seq. and the act.
  22. “Net proceeds” means the amount remaining from the sale of articles or services of vending facilities and any vending machine or other income accruing to operators after deducting the cost of the sale and other expenses and excluding setaside charges required to be paid by operators.
  23. “Net profit” is the gross income to the operator before personal income tax.
  24. “Operating costs” means the cost of all of the following:
  1. Products sold.
  2. Employees’ wages, taxes, and compensation.
  3. An operator’s portion of repair.
  4. Sales taxes.
  5. Operating insurance.
  6. Supplies.
  7. Business telephone charges directly related to the vending facility.
  8. The renting or leasing of commissionapproved equipment or space, which may include utilities.
  9. Actual vehicle mileage, documented in a log for that purpose, which is directly related to the operation of the vending stand facility, deemed necessary for the location, and identified in the agreement, and parking and tolls directly related to the operation of the vending stand facility. The expenses shall be documented by adequate records or evidence. The rate of reimbursement shall be established by the commission board with the active participation of the committee. Vehicle mileage between the licensee’s home and the vending facility is not an operating expense.
  10. Dues for professional and trade organizations.
  1. “Other property” means property which is not required by state or federal law to house a vending stand facility and which is property on which vending facilities are established or operated through the use of any funds derived, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the operation of any mandated vending facility.
  2. “Permit” means the official approval or authority which is given to the commission by a department, agency, or instrumentality that is in control of the maintenance, operation, and protection of federal property or by a person who is in control of other property and which authorizes the commission to establish a vending facility.
  3. “Program” means all the activities of the commission related to business enterprise program vending facilities on federal, state, and other properties.
  4. “Promotional agent” means the commission employee occupying the Michigan department of civil service position that performs the duties described in R 393.21.
  5. “Satellite” means a site that is added to a licensee’s primary vending facility to assist the profitability of the primary vending facility. A satellite is not profitable enough to meet the current requirements for a selfsupporting facility.
  6. “Selfemployment” means an occupation where an individual does not receive a W2 form and is required to file an internal revenue service schedule “C” (sole proprietorship form).
  7. “Setaside funds” means funds that accrue to the commission from an assessment against the net proceeds of each vending facility in the state’s program.
  8. “Snack bar” means a vending facility that is engaged in selling limited lines of refreshment and derives more than 5% of its gross sales from the sale of coffee or other beverages. A snack bar may sell prepared food items necessary for a light meal service such as soups, salads, and sandwiches. Food may be prepared off the premises. A snack bar may have no or limited on-site food preparation.
  9. “Stand type” means any of the following types of vending facility:
  1. Dry stand.
  2. Snack bar.
  3. Vending machine.
  4. Cafeteria.
  5. Combined cafeteria/snack bar.
  6. Vending machine route.
  7. Highway vending.
  1. “State property” means a business enterprise program facility in a building or on a property owned or occupied by the state, except for a concession operated in connection with any of the following:
  1. The state fair.
  2. The use of state fair grounds.
  3. Any state educational institution.
  4. A state penal institution.
  5. Military establishments and armories.
  6. A state park.
  1. “Unassigned vending machine income” means the funds that accrue from vending machines on federal, state, and other properties, for which there is no blind licensee and which accrues to the commission.
  2. “Vending facility” means an automatic vending machine, cafeteria, snack bar, cart service, catering, coffee service, shelter, counter or any other appropriate auxiliary service or equipment as the commission may prescribe by rule as being necessary for the sale of articles or services described in 1978 PA 260, as amended, being §393.351 et seq of the Michigan Compiled Laws and which may be operated by a blind licensee.
  3. “Vending machine route” means a vending facility that consists of vending machines situated in disparate physical locations. None of the vending machine route component parts can function as a vending facility.
  4. “Vending machine facility” means a vending facility that has a majority of its sales generated from coin or currencyoperated machines that dispense articles or services.

A term defined in Public Act 260 of 1978 has the same meaning when used in these rules.