The National Treasury Employees Union has raised privacy
and logistical concerns regarding a government-wide roll
out of biometric security ID cards for workers and
contractors that would use finger prints and facial
recognition technology to identify cardholders, a rollout
that is already underway at the Department of
Transportation and other agencies.
The union said a provision forcing employees to follow
visitor procedures for building access until background
checks are completed could take a long time — and that a
proposal adding pay grade and rank to the face of the card
could result in a security risk if a card were lost or stolen.
NTEU also raised concern that the cards could be misused or
even make government employment too invasive if used to
monitor employee movements throughout a building.
“There are a number of unanswered questions and concerns
beyond the technical specifications,” said NTEU President
Colleen M. Kelley.
“As with all programs that impact employees, this plan would
benefit from broader discussion with federal employees and
their representatives.”
The card standards are to be finalized on Feb. 25, but NIST
has published the proposed standards in the Federal Register,
and a public meeting will be held January 19 at the General
Services Administration in Washington, D.C. to address
privacy and security issues.
