Evaluation of SBA’s Coronavirus Reconstitution Plan

We found that SBA established its May 2020 COVID-19 Reconstitution Plan in accordance with applicable federal guidance. We identified issues with the implementation of the reconstitution plan that should be addressed to help the agency safeguard its employees from contracting and spreading COVID-19 in the workplace.

We found the agency did not follow occupancy procedures for advancing or reverting phases at its Washington, DC headquarters. SBA also did not implement exposure tracking protocols to ensure it consistently traced COVID-19 cases. We found the agency did not consistently notify its staff of presumed or confirmed COVID-19 cases in the sampling we analyzed. SBA did not consistently contact potentially exposed personnel and ensure employees completed 14-day quarantine periods.

SBA replaced the reconstitution plan with its new COVID-19 Workplace Safety Plan in February 2021. We made one recommendation for SBA to enforce the requirements of its new workplace safety plan by consistently applying procedures for occupancy and exposure tracking and to accurately record and maintain supporting documentation for all reported COVID-19 cases. SBA management agreed with our recommendation and planned actions resolve the recommendation.