The National Federation of the Blind, National Association of Blind Merchants, and several blind entrepreneurs filed a federal lawsuit on January 30, 2026, challenging a decision by Secretary of Education Linda McMahon that claims to eliminate the Randolph-Sheppard Act priority for blind vendors to operate dining facilities at United States Army installations nationwide. The plaintiffs are represented by Brown, Goldstein & Levy partners Andrew D. Freeman, Neel K. Lalchandani, and Joshua N. Auerbach.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, asks the court to set aside the Secretary’s December 23, 2025, decision approving a “limitation” on the Randolph-Sheppard Act as applied to Army dining facility contracts. The Complaint alleges that this decision exceeds the Secretary’s statutory authority, violates required procedures, and is arbitrary and capricious.
Originally enacted in 1936, the Randolph-Sheppard Act provides economic and employment opportunities for blind entrepreneurs by giving them “priority” in the operation vending facilities at federal properties. The Act has been described by the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare as “one of the most practical and effective employment opportunity programs ever enacted by Congress.” For decades, blind vendors have successfully operated dining facilities at military installations nationwide and have been recognized for their excellent performance.
The Randolph-Sheppard Act authorizes the Secretary of Education to approve a request from a federal agency for a “limitation” on the “placement or operation of a vending facility.” The action challenged in the lawsuit, which would displace dozens of blind vendors from military dining facilities that they have operated for years or decades, is the first time in the Act’s history that the Secretary of Education has granted such a “limitation.”
According to the lawsuit, the Secretary’s action significantly oversteps her legal authority under the Randolph-Sheppard Act. The statute permits the Secretary to grant a “limitation” on the “placement or operation” of a particular vending facility based on functional considerations pertinent that facility. It does not permit the Secretary to exempt an entire category of facilities from all the requirements of the Act based on an agency’s or the Secretary’s disagreement with the public policy embodied in the Act.
The lawsuit further alleges that the Secretary’s decision rests on vague and anecdotal information that is contradicted by decades of successful performance by blind vendors at Army dining facilities. If allowed to stand, the Secretary’s action would jeopardize the livelihoods of blind vendors currently serving on Army facilities nationwide, displace hundreds of employees, and undermine state programs that rely on revenue generated through Randolph-Sheppard contracts to support blind entrepreneurs.
“The Department of Education cannot erase the work of America’s lawmakers through a sweeping administrative finding based on anecdote, speculation, or policy disagreement, and should not exclude blind people from shaping the future direction of the program,” said Mark Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the Blind. “[W]e are determined to reverse this unlawful, unwarranted, and unjust action.”
For almost 40 years, Brown, Goldstein & Levy has been a national leader fighting to protect the rights of blind entrepreneurs under the Randolph-Sheppard Act. In 1987, we represented a group of Maryland vendors, ultimately obtaining an agreement that lowered the amount of set-aside collected by more than two-thirds. Since that first case, BGL attorneys have represented blind managers, groups of managers, state licensing agencies, the National Association of Blind Merchants, and the National Federation of the Blind throughout the United States in Randolph-Sheppard arbitrations, trial courts, and appellate courts.
BGL has won several precedent-setting Randolph-Sheppard cases, including the first decisions to apply the Act to military dining facilities and to the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans’ Canteen Service. These cases also established that federal agencies could not charge commissions on vending machine receipts and that the Veterans’ Canteen Service could not install vending machines in competition with a machine-only vending facility.
Learn more about our Randolph-Sheppard Act practice here.
Founded in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, D.C. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.
ABOUT ANDREW D. FREEMAN
Andy Freeman obtains results for his clients. A partner at Brown, Goldstein & Levy, he has won numerous verdicts, judgments and settlements of millions, tens of millions and in one case, over one billion dollars by mastering the relevant law and getting to know his clients, their problems and the evidence in their cases. Andy has a history of winning difficult cases with complicated combinations of law and facts or novel legal issues. For almost 40 years, he has represented blind vendors, state licensing agencies, the NFB, and NABM in precedent-setting lawsuits and arbitrations under the Randolph-Sheppard Act. Learn more about Andy.
ABOUT NEEL K. LALCHANDANI
Neel Lalchandani represents individuals, nonprofits, and companies in a diverse array of civil rights and commercial matters. Among other victories for his clients, Neel has helped secure several of the largest payments in Maryland history for victims of police misconduct, including more than $80 million for innocent men imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. He has won major victories for blind vendors and state licensing agencies in federal court and in Randolph-Sheppard arbitrations related to military dining contracts. Learn more about Neel here.
ABOUT JOSHUA N. AUERBACH
Josh Auerbach brings over 20 years of experience representing clients in complex civil litigation and working to expand access to health care and protect consumers. Much of Josh’s experience has been in state and local government. At the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland, Josh worked both as a litigator and as an adviser to public officials and state agencies. His litigation experience includes leading major enforcement actions under Maryland’s consumer protection and false claims laws, as well as defending constitutional and administrative law challenges to state laws, regulations, and enforcement actions. He began his career as an associate at Brown, Goldstein & Levy and is excited to bring his experience back to the firm as a partner. Learn more about Josh.
FIND MEDIA COVERAGE BELOW:
Lawsuit Brought in Response to the Challenges Against the Randolph-Sheppard Program | American Council of the Blind (February 2, 2026)