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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal workers today asked the head of the General Services Administration (GSA) for his assurance that “all possible measures” are being taken to protect federal employees from any effects of the loss by a major bank of computer tapes containing information on some 1.6 million workers who use GSA-issued credit cards for government business.

In a letter to GSA Administrator Stephen L. Perry, President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) called on GSA to direct Bank of America, which was responsible for safeguarding the employee information, to take a number of steps. These include:

· Providing affected federal employees with detailed information on what is being done to protect them—and what they should do to protect themselves;

· Providing information on what the bank will do to assist an employee if his or her identity is compromised by this loss of information;

· Paying for credit reports for employees in states where those reports are not now provided for free; and

· Providing employees with subscriptions to a credit monitoring service.

“The burden of taking steps to protect their private information should not be borne by the affected employees,” President Kelley wrote to Perry.

The NTEU leader also called on GSA to consult with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on steps GSA can take to protect the interests of employees. “The FTC web site contains a frightening list of potential problems that can arise when a person’s Social Security number is stolen and used for illegal purpose,” Kelley said.

The data lost by Bank of America involves the large number of federal employees authorized to use GSA SmartPay cards, which allows them to charge commercial goods and services for official business. The bank has sent letters to affected employees telling them it will monitor their SmartPay accounts for unusual activity.

While that is important in protecting the government against unauthorized purchases, President Kelley said, NTEU’s primary concern is centered on the fact that the lost computer tapes contain the kind of data that can lead to identify theft—Social Security numbers, account numbers and addresses.

“With identity theft a growing issue in our country,” the NTEU leader said, “it is imperative that GSA and Bank of America bring to bear every effort to protect these federal workers” from the potential impact of the loss of this key information.

As the largest independent federal union, NTEU represents some 150,000 employees in 30 agencies and departments.