Government shuts down employee “man caves”

US government-funded facility shut down after personal “man caves” found throughout warehouse.

A group of Maryland workers are looking for new jobs after their series of “man caves” hidden in a government funded warehouse were discovered.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inspector discovered the hidden rooms and passages set up within its Landover warehouse, complete with TVs, fridges, personal photos, and pin-ups. The government confiscated the products brought in by those “working” on agency business.

The warehouse, ostensibly storing EPA office equipment, included a 10-by-15-metre athletic centre built with excess agency gym equipment and a music system provided through “other agency inventory items,” according to the inspector general’s report.

However, companies looking for logistical skills and problem-solving ability might want to call up the workers, who had successfully hidden their spaces from security cameras by using partitions and piles of boxes.  

“Our initial research at the EPA’s Landover warehouse raised significant concerns with the lack of agency oversight of personal property and warehouse space at the facility,” EPA Inspector General Arthur A. Elkins Jr. noted in his “early warning report”.

The space was also a fire hazard, thanks to overloaded electrical outlets, and full of dirt, dust, vermin feces and rotting products.

Elkins also noted “a locked office inside the facility for which we could not determine a purpose.”

And it’s bad news for any other EPA space – the agency has ordered a wide ranging inspection of all its facilities.

 

Recent articles & video

"Our people are at the heart of our success"

Targeted redundancy? Manager calls restructure was a 'sham'

Former office administrator admits to defrauding employer: reports

Employee consultation in a business sale – has the bar been raised?

Most Read Articles

Women in data: What's preventing women from pursuing a career in tech?

Worker quits after employer bans personal use of company vehicle

'Corporate homicide': New bill wants employers liable for preventable workplace deaths