Protective Services on Badge Swipe Data and CCTV Footage

In negotiations with NASA Goddard Protective Services and the Labor Relations Office, Protective Services has agreed to the following statement concerning the use of badge swipe data and Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage:

“The Goddard Space Flight Center, to include all component locations, utilizes a series of Electronic Physical Security Access Control (EPACS) Devices and Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) network to maintain the protection and observation of the Center and facilities.  These devices monitor the access authorization for employees, contractors and visitors to enter the center or buildings and provide notice to Security Police Officers if a person does not have authorization to enter the facility.  The CCTV system is deployed at all entry control points and other areas as required for the Center and facilities.  These devices are not used for time and attendance nor are they provided to managers for daily time and date verification.  The system records can be utilized by NASA Protective Services and the Office of the Inspector General during any investigation.  A supervisor cannot request employee verification of a specific time/date of entry due to a time card discrepancy.  While extremely rare, if OPS or the OIG received a credible allegation of time card abuse/fraud, the right to use all available evidence in support of the official investigation will be utilized. Any request for access to Protective Services systems must be approved by the Chief of Protective Services.”

This means that, except for very rare cases involving credible evidence of fraud, the data from badge swipes on entering Goddard or other buildings, and the security camera footage, cannot be used for attendance or other purposes by management against employees. Although they have agreed to the statement, management has refused to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on this. We are still pushing for a signed MOA, but in lieu of that, this official statement is in force, so if an employee suspects the security information is being misused there are grounds to oppose it.

GESTA was also informed that, in compliance with the Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act (USE IT Act), starting Monday, May 5, 2025, NASA Office of Strategic Infrastructure (OSI) would start collecting employee on-site numbers and report to OMB. This data will be collected at each center via the entry badge swipe. The data will not include individual names, only numbers. The collected data will be reported to The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on a weekly basis. We are working to gather more information on this and will send out an update if we learn more.