2020 Census Alert: The Census Bureau Faces Challenges in Ensuring Employee Health Safety During 2020 Census Field Operations

OIG issued this 2020 Census Alert due to our concerns—about the Census Bureau’s (Bureau’s) inconsistent implementation of safety procedures to prevent the spread of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) as it completed its 2020 Census operations—that required immediate attention. Based on the number and consistency of COVID-19-related OIG hotline complaints that we received, we were concerned that the Bureau was not fully complying with key elements of its own COVID-19 safety requirements—or operating fully in line with recommended guidance provided by the Department of Commerce (the Department), the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Department of Labor (Labor)—and was not holding its managers, employees, and contractors fully accountable for noncompliance, thereby putting their health at risk. Between March 9 and August 21, 2020, OIG received multiple hotline complaints from 26 different Bureau locations in multiple states, alleging 76 instances3 of violations related to the Bureau’s COVID-19 safety protocol. These included at least one of the following allegations: that Bureau employees (a) did not follow proper protocol when staff were exposed to office colleagues who tested positive to the virus; (b) did not follow social distancing recommendations; and/or (c) did not properly implement the mandate to wear masks or facial coverings, even when supplied by the Bureau.