I will begin by telling a short story.

Once a member of a management team was let go early in the morning and no e-mail was sent except to a few that would be directly effected. Later in the afternoon, the fired employee walked into the company as easily as they ever had and was able to get into secured areas and do damage without a trace of responsibility. The police could do virtually nothing.

The fact that someone routinely forgets their badge may come by honestly. At one place where the company was located in several buildings up and down the street, it was not that uncommon for one of us to forget their badge and need help. All well and good. However, routinely forgetting their badge may a simple form of narcissism even if it does not seem to be. It could be a lighter form of "the rules are... [fill in the blank]" just in the same way anyone up and down the chain of command may feel. I have seen very good people fall into this category without realizing it. It does not mean that they necessarily feel superior. It actually becomes a habit that is enabled over time by being recognized and not realizing the effect of not following the rules as closely as everyone else.

Forgetting fairness for a moment since too many of us seek a fairer world that will never be, what is important is that it is bothersome regardless of how slight the offense may actually be.

For this reason, the problem should be resolved.

If you can talk frankly and openly with your own boss without judgement or reprisal, then I suggest that you say little, but say enough. No body likes a tattle-tale, so avoid it as much as possible while adding respect for all concerned. For example,

I have noticed that a member of management, I will not say who because I believe that they genuinely mean no harm, forgets their badge quite a lot and requires someone to let them into secure areas. While this is completely understandable from time to time, if I let them into the secure area and something were to go wrong, then it is I who is looked upon as being responsible. Can you keep an eye out and see if you can rectify the problem so that we as a team can feel better about the problem? Thanks!

If you cannot trust your boss, then same speech can be given to HR or security. By couching it in the way you have, people will understand the problem and hopefully protect you as a genuinely concerned member of a corporate team. You may want to ask to remain anonymous as not to embarrass anyone.

To add some humor to this answer, the company that was located in several buildings up and down the street bought a huge building, refit it, and during the process, in the IT areas, the instruction was to place magnetic badge readers about butt level. This was questioned by our contractor as a mistake. It was no mistake. Why? If you place the badge in your other pocket, opposite from your wallet, then all you have to is wag your butt near the reader and forgetting your badge far less likely. It was a perfect solution for the IT team (at least)!

I will begin by telling a short story.

Once a member of a management team was let go early in the morning and no e-mail was sent except to a few that would be directly affected. Later in the afternoon, the fired employee walked into the company as easily as they ever had and was able to get into secured areas and do damage without a trace of responsibility. The police could do virtually nothing.

The fact that someone routinely forgets their badge may come by honestly. At one place where the company was located in several buildings up and down the street, it was not that uncommon for one of us to forget their badge and need help. All well and good. However, routinely forgetting their badge may be a simple form of narcissism even if it does not seem to be. It could be a lighter form of "the rules are... [fill in the blank]" just in the same way anyone up and down the chain of command may feel. I have seen very good people fall into this category without realizing it. It does not mean that they necessarily feel superior. It actually becomes a habit that is enabled over time by being recognized and not realizing the effect of not following the rules as closely as everyone else.

Forgetting fairness for a moment since too many of us seek a fairer world that will never be, what is important is that it is bothersome regardless of how slight the offense may actually be.

For this reason, the problem should be resolved.

If you can talk frankly and openly with your own boss without judgement or reprisal, then I suggest that you say little, but say enough. Nobody likes a tattle-tale, so avoid it as much as possible while adding respect for all concerned. For example,

I have noticed that a member of management, I will not say who because I believe that they genuinely mean no harm, forgets their badge quite a lot and requires someone to let them into secure areas. While this is completely understandable from time to time, if I let them into the secure area and something were to go wrong, then it is I who is looked upon as being responsible. Can you keep an eye out and see if you can rectify the problem so that we as a team can feel better about the problem? Thanks!

If you cannot trust your boss, then same speech can be given to HR or security. By couching it in the way you have, people will understand the problem and hopefully protect you as a genuinely concerned member of a corporate team. You may want to ask to remain anonymous as not to embarrass anyone.

To add some humor to this answer, the company that was located in several buildings up and down the street bought a huge building, refit it, and during the process, in the IT areas, the instruction was to place magnetic badge readers about butt level. This was questioned by our contractor as a mistake. It was no mistake. Why? If you place the badge in your other pocket, opposite from your wallet, then all you have to is wag your butt near the reader and forgetting your badge far less likely. It was a perfect solution for the IT team (at least)!