Introduction
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic. Following this declaration, federal agencies issued health, safety, and travel guidelines for employers to use in developing plans to help identify risk levels in workplace settings and to determine appropriate control measures.
Federal Guidance
On April 16, 2020, the White House in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the Opening Up America Again guidelines. It outlined a three-phased, data-driven approach to help federal, state, and local officials reopen their economies and get people back to work safely.
Federal agencies were required to develop and implement agency-specific policies and procedures in accordance with federal regulations and industry best practices regarding:
• social distancing and personal protective equipment (PPE); • temperature checks;
• testing, isolation, and contact tracing;
• sanitation;
• use and disinfection of common and high-traffic areas; and
• business travel.
On May 26, 2020, in support of Opening Up America Again, the CDC provided guidelines for federal agencies to safely return their employees to the workplace. The CDC guide explained a three-phased re-entry strategy based on analysis of community infection rate trends and healthcare system capacities. Table 1 shows the CDC gating criteria, which describes six conditions and thresholds to be considered as federal agencies progress toward reoccupying workplaces.
Federal guidance recommends agencies to develop policies and procedures for employees to report when they are sick or experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and actively encourage sick employees to stay home. In addition, federal guidance recommended employers implement a contact tracing process so appropriate restrictions could be implemented.
COVID-19 Agency-wide Pandemic Reconstitution Plan Issued May 2020
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the former SBA Administrator established a command center to oversee all COVID-19 related efforts, including the safe return of the workforce to SBA offices. The command center consisted of three teams that drafted and finalized the SBA COVID-19 Agency-Wide Pandemic Reconstitution Plan. On May 15, 2020, the then Administrator approved and distributed the plan. The purpose of the plan was to provide SBA leaders with guidance to safely return SBA employees to their workplaces. SBA has over 177 offices located throughout the 50 states, District of Columbia, and 5 territories with workplace occupancy ranging from 1 to 900. The reconstitution plan allowed SBA management the flexibility to establish health and safety strategies specific to each SBA office.
At a minumu, the plan required SBA managers to consider community infection trends, to include state and region as described in the CDC gating criteria, prior to advancing to the next occupancy phase.
• Phase 1 – Maximum of up to 25 percent staff occupancy
• Phase 2 – Maximum of up to 50 percent staff occupancy
• Phase 3 – Maximum of up to 75 percent staff occupancy
The plan also required all SBA offices to be sanitized using commercial-grade disinfectant on accessible surfaces before the start of phase 1 for staff occupancy. The plan further required that following occupancy, the building's common area will continue to be regularly cleaned in accordance with General Services Administration's guidelines.
The SBA reconstitution plan included workforce health and safety protocols necessary to control the spread of COVID-19. The protocols included social distancing practices, personnel security to protect employees from verbal or physical threats, and health screening services to prevent staff who have COVID-19 symptoms from entering the workplace.
The plan promoted the maximization of telework and other workforce flexibilities as authorized by the Office of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines. In addition, the plan include Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines on infection controls through the enforcement of social distancing requirements.
SBA provided virtual COVID-19 training designed to educate, inform, and prepare its employees and supervisors on returning to the workplace. The supervisor training included instructions on handling COVID-19 matters during occupancy phases.
Updated Federal Guidance
On January 20, 2021, the Administration issued new federal guidance requiring agencies to develop agency-tailored COVID-19 workplace safety plans. It also asked agencies to designate their own individual COVID-19 coordination teams. The new guidance provided model safety principles for federal agencies to follow, including:
• requiring mask wearing and social distancing in all federal buildings and land;
• establishing testing methodologies and protocols;
• investigating cases and contact tracing; and
• accessing and acquiring sufficient equipment, including PPE.
To protect the safety of the federal workforce and reduce community spread of COVID-19, the updated guidance mandated agencies establish a staffing plan and limit occupancy levels at or below 25 percent of normal occupancy standards during periods of high community infection transmission.
Updated COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan Issued February 2021
In response to the new federal guidance, agency management issued the SBA COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan in February 2021, replacing the COVID-19 Reconstitution Plan established in May 2020. The new plan outlined the Agency policies and requirements regarding COVID-19 related matters that may affect the health and safety and workplace operations.
To implement the new plan, SBA established the COVID-19 coordination team. The coordination team consists of several agency senior leaders from SBA Headquarters and field offices. The SBA coordination team is responsible for:
• establishing, implementing, and monitoring compliance with safety protocols.
• updating the current COVID-19 workplace safety plan as necessary in consultation with the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, established to provide ongoing guidance to heads of agencies.
• developing staffing plans that outlines which employee will work on-site full time, on-site occasionally, or fully remote.
• determining appropriate workplace closures for suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the workplace.
• collaborating and supporting local health departments' contact tracing programs to help identify, track, and manage contacts of COVID-19 cases.
The February 2021 plan identified specific roles and responsibilities for SBA employees and supervisors. SBA managers are expected to take proper precautions to maintain occupancy levels when community-level transmission is high. SBA management notified staff that noncompliance with the planned safety protocols may result in disciplinary action or penalties.
SBA provided virtual training on the February 2021 plan, which included question and answer sessions. Similar sessions were done for the May 2020 plan.
Previous Work
We have not completed previous work of the evaluation subject matter.
Our objectives were to determine (1) whether the agency established a COVID-19 reconstitution plan in accordance with applicable federal guidance and (2) if the agency was adhering to that plan.
SBA's COVID-19 Reconstitution Plan Incorporated Federal Guidance Allowing for the Safe Return of its Workforce
SBA incorporated federal guidance in its May 2020 COVID-19 Reconstitution Plan. The reconstitution plan identified roles and responsibilities for SBA officials and included the following pandemic prevention measures:
• expanding and maximizing telework policy;
• limiting workspace in accordance with occupancy phases;
• cleaning and sanitizing facilities;
• providing adequate personal protective equipment;
• restricting common areas;
• limiting non-essential business travel throughout all occupancy phases;
• installing social distancing markings and signage; and • staffing health screeners at entrances.
Management Actions
As a result of incorporating the federal guidance, SBA appropriately planned for the safe and gradual return of SBA workers to offices.
In response to the new federal guidance, the agency issued the SBA COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan in February 2021, replacing the COVID-19 Reconstitution Plan of May 2020.
Consistent Application of Occupancy and Exposure Tracking Procedures are Needed to Successfully Implement SBA's Workforce Health and Safety Safeguards
While we recognize SBA instituted its COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan in February 2021, our review of the May 2020 COVID-19 Agency-wide Pandemic Reconstitution Plan for occupancy, identified issues that should be addressed for successful implementation of the new plan. SBA did not always adhere to the original occupancy plan and did not consistently implement COVID-19 exposure tracking procedures to provide for the safe return of its workforce. For instance, SBA decided to return workers to SBA headquarters and advance through occupancy phases but did not provide support that showed all the CDC gating conditions were met. SBA did not downgrade phases during periods of community COVID-19 resurgence or when a case was reported at headquarters. SBA leadership was responsible for making decisions regarding occupancy phases and did not revert phases consistently with available data points. Consequently, SBA employees could not rely on the designated phase of operation to accurately reflect the current pandemic risk environment within headquarters.
SBA could improve its exposure tracking procedures based on the 19 cases of presumed, exposed, or confirmed COVID-19 cases we reviewed. Specifically, SBA should consistently:
• notify staff of presumed or confirmed COVID-19 cases,
• contact potentially exposed personnel, and
• ensure employees completed 14-day quarantine periods before returning to the workplace.
To successfully implement adequate exposure tracking procedures moving forward, the agency should ensure these inconsistencies are addressed to mitigate the risks of spreading COVID-19 infections within its workforce.
The February 2021 SBA COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan set expectations for the supervisors to implement a range of operational controls that limit occupancy at or below 25 percent of the normal headcount. The plan required the agency to consider surrounding community infection rates as a condition of occupancy, consistent with the new federal guidelines. In addition, the plan included exposure tracking and reporting processes that were similar to the procedures in the May 2020 reconstitution plan. The February 2021 plan established supervisor and employees' responsibilities and required affected staff to quarantine for 14 days. If SBA leadership enforces these operational controls, the agency will be able to better safeguard its employees from contracting and spreading COVID-19.
Occupancy
The May 2020 plan stated SBA managers would make their decisions to advance through office reoccupation phases based on local conditions. The plan said each office location would be evaluated according to CDC gating criteria and other factors, including access to public transportation and building capacity for safe social distancing. To assess the CDC gating criteria for its 177 offices, SBA relied on CDC-endorsed data it received daily from the Department of Health and Human Services.
On June 29, 2020, SBA advanced to phase 1, allowing up to 25 percent of staff to occupy the headquarters building. SBA management cited that Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority stations were re-opened, health and safety measures were taken, and employees had access to agency-provided PPE. SBA advanced to phase 2 on September 14, 2020, allowing up to 50 percent of staff to occupy the building. SBA officials asserted that they justified the phase advancement decision by monitoring local conditions, specifically having awareness of downward infection trends, healthcare system capacity, status of public transportation, and status of building projects to improve staff access to the facility. However, they were unable to demonstrate that proper CDC-recommended conditions were met when deciding to advance to phases 1 and 2 at SBA headquarters.
The May 2020 plan also provided authority to SBA officials to revert phases as necessary to lessen the health and safety risk to employees. The plan called for monitoring and assessing multiple factors including local conditions. The plan also required that during any phase, if there is a development of a positive COVID-19 case, the office should revert phases. However, despite detecting incidences of positive COVID-19 cases at SBA headquarters, the agency did not revert from phase 1 or phase 2. Similarly, SBA did not revert from phase 2 despite a resurgence of COVID-19 in the local community in November and December 2020. SBA officials did not provide reasonable justification or rationale on that decision, indicating that they made occupancy decisions based on multiple conditions not a single data point like community infection spread.
The February 2021 plan directs agency management to consider moving to the next phase only when less than 100 new COVID-19 confirmed infections are reported for every 100,000 people in the area of an SBA office. In the event of a resurgence, agency managers should consult with the newly created SBA COVID-19 coordination team. These operational controls, if enforced, should help SBA better safeguard its employees from contracting and spreading the COVID-19.
COVID-19 Exposure Tracking and Notifications
The May 2020 plan outlined supervisor and employee expectations when faced with a COVID-19 case. Employees who experience symptoms, are exposed, or test positive for COVID-19 should report it immediately to their supervisor. The plan required that the supervisor report the case to the command center. The command center was required to notify colleagues who may have been exposed.