Threat To Understaffed Field Offices

     From Government Executive: 

Officials with the nation’s largest federal employee union on Friday raised concerns that a 2024 law enabling the General Services Administration to offload federal property based on low occupancy rates could mistakenly target busy Social Security Administration field offices for closure.  

In recent months, SSA has implemented a “badge in/badge out” system for measuring how many employees work at the agency’s various offices around the country. That’s part of the federal government’s broader effort to implement the provisions of the 2024 Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act—USE IT, for short. The USE IT Act requires federal agencies track the occupancy rates of their various buildings, with a goal of at least 60% occupancy. If a particular office consistently fails to hit that threshold, GSA is empowered to take steps to shrink that agency’s physical footprint. …  

AFGE Council 220 President Jessica LaPointe, whose union represents field office and teleservice center employees, told Government Executive that basing whether or not to offload an office solely on employee occupancy data could have unintended consequences at an understaffed agency like SSA. Without additional data, such as non-employee foot traffic or customer demand, a busy but understaffed could be erroneously targeted for closure. …