Regulators of major U.S. banks may be forced to compete for desks as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency pulls staff back to a Times Square skyscraper — without enough space for all of them.
"Due to a workspace shortage at your location, you will not participate in a seat-selection process to have an assigned workspace," according to an email sent Friday to unionized staff and seen by Bloomberg News.
The "hoteling" system used to book workspace will be suspended "for an indefinite period of time," staffers were told, and until additional space is found, places to work "will be available on a daily first-come, first-serve basis."
The desk free-for-all highlights challenges faced by some of the most important U.S. banking regulators as President Donald Trump's administration brings civil servants across the federal government back to their offices after working from home. The plans come alongside a White House drive for "large-scale reductions" in the federal government's workforce.
An OCC representative didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The OCC's office at the 47-story
OCC staffers are required to work full-time from their office or on-site at their supervised bank starting Monday, while members of the bargaining unit can return April 14, according to a separate memo from March 5.
Regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission face similar rules, Bloomberg reported last month.
The OCC is canceling remote-work agreements for employees working within 50 miles of an office and is facing a challenge to accommodate employees who work beyond that radius. The regulator was "still assessing its approach" to those staffers, according to the March 5 memo.
