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USDA Employee & Intern Information

USDA Employee Information pages provide easy access to our employees and our interns. We strive to get information to their fingertips in the quickest, easiest possible way.

Frequently Used Employee Links

The South and Whitten Buildings

These briefings provide information about both headquarters buildings, including services available, room number system, floor plans, etc. If you will be working in a building other than South or Whitten, you may find information on your place of work from the DM home page, above. This link provides you with the general floor plans of the two buildings.

Getting Around

Living and working in the nation’s capital is exciting. Many of our buildings are located in beautiful, historic areas and all are easily accessible by all forms of commuting. Whether you walk, ride Metro, bike or drive to work, here is some information that will help get you there:

Commuter Transit Benefit Program

Federal employees who use public transportation to and from work can receive a subsidy from the USDA to cover all or part of this cost. You may learn more about this program from the Miscellaneous Information & Resources page on the USDA New Employee web site. The USDA has a transit subsidy coordinator who can provide you with specific information about the program, about Smart Benefits, Smart Vouchers and the current maximum subsidy amount. Click here to see a list of the coordinators.

 

Shuttles

Shuttles and other government vehicles are available for use in performing your official responsibilities. Except for a very few senior USDA officials, government transportation may not be used to travel to work from home, or from home to work, and that includes government sponsored shuttle services. There are two shuttle systems in the DC area. These links will take you to the information about these systems:

  • Beltsville Shuttle
  • Food and Nutrition Service Shuttle: In addition to the Beltsville shuttle, the Food and Nutrition Service runs a shuttle between USDA offices at Park Center, HQ (South/Whitten), Portals, 9th Street, School St, Reporters, and Aerospace. Once you start at USDA, you can obtain a copy of the FNS shuttle by FNS Logistics office at 703-305-2220.

Phone Use

Here are basic dialing instructions for your phone:

  • To call within USDA in the DC area, dial the 7 digit phone number.
  • To make a local call, outside USDA, dial 9, then the area code and phone number.
  • To make a long distance call, dial 9, then 1, then the area code and phone number.
  • Employees may not make personal long distance calls. If you need to make a personal long distance call, please be sure to use a personal calling card or your cell phone.

Building Access Policies

Building access policies, including how to arrange for visitors, depends on whether you are in a USDA-controlled building (Whitten, South, and Yates in D.C. and the Carver Center in Beltsville) or in a GSA-controlled space (all other buildings).

In USDA-controlled buildings, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., you will be required to show your government ID. Between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., you will be required to sign in and show your government ID.

If you have a large group of visitors or a foreign delegation, you must provide a list of names with dates, times, etc. to Security Operations, Protective Operations Division, USDA (South Bldg). You must meet your party at the building entrance and they will need to be escorted at all times. If you have a small group of individuals visiting, you will be required to meet them at the entrance and escort them at all times.

In GSA-controlled buildings, you must ask the security personnel in that building what the procedures are. GSA-controlled facilities in the DC area where USDA has a presence include:

  • 1800 M St, DC
  • Aerospace Bldg, DC
  • Fairfax Circle, Old Lee Hwy, Fairfax, VA
  • 1325 G Street, DC
  • Park Center VA (HQ and agencies)
  • Portals, DC
  • Reporters, DC (HQ and agencies)
  • Rosslyn, VA
  • School St., DC
  • Riverdale, MD
  • Waterfront, DC
  • Congressional Quarterly, 22 St NW, DC

Health Clinic

Many USDA organizations either host a health clinic or are in GSA-leased space with a GSA health clinic. For the DC headquarters facilities, you can find information about your health clinic at this link.

 

Occupant Emergency Plan

All employees need to know what to do in case of a fire or other building emergency. Please read the Headquarters Occupant Emergency Plan at this link.