O'Hare near top in fired screeners

Chicago Sun-Times ^ | 1/21/04 | Robert Herguth

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Airports in Chicago and Los Angeles led the nation in the number of federal government screeners who were hired without complete background checks, then fired when checks revealed problems, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

Only Los Angeles International Airport, also known as LAX, had more "suitability" cases than O'Hare Airport: an estimated 139 vs. 77 as of early June, according to Transportation Security Administration records requested under the Freedom of Information Act last summer and recently delivered.

That means at least 77 O'Hare screeners were on the job before the middle of last year when they should not have been because they either lied on applications, had criminal histories or raised some other concern.

Nationwide, around 1,200 of 55,000-plus screeners were fired for those reasons by early June.

The TSA, which oversees federal screeners, first revealed the 1,200 figure during congressional testimony last spring. In a subsequent interview, the TSA's boss at the time, retired Coast Guard Admiral James Loy, refused to break it down by airport.

The recently arrived records do that, but the TSA still will not provide reasons for the firings on an airport-by-airport basis.

Overall, dozens reportedly were fired for felony raps. But most cases involved workers not being "factual in their employment history, if they were ever fired, or left a job for whatever reason," TSA spokeswoman Chris Rhatigan said.

In his June 3 testimony, Loy told the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Homeland Security "the number of terminated screeners includes individuals with disqualifying criminal offenses, those who failed alcohol and drug tests, those who falsified the employment application, and those with other suitability concerns."

The TSA since has revamped its hiring so background checks are completed before screeners even start training, Rhatigan said.

The agency would not make O'Hare's current TSA boss, Mike Zunk, available for comment.

The TSA was created in response to the 9/11 attacks and, in fall 2002, took over screening duties from private firms hired by the airlines.

Initially, federal screeners were allowed to work and interact with the public while their background checks were being processed, although Rhatigan said they typically were under supervision.

"At no time were passengers at risk," she said. The hiring process was done that way because "we were in a quick ramp-up period back then," the agency was forced to quickly hire thousands of people while the TSA basically was built from the ground up.

But Douglas Laird, an aviation security consultant who once was security director for Northwest Airlines, criticized the federal government for its "double standard."

"In the past, when screening was done by the private sector, if companies failed to complete background investigations they were subjected to either civil penalties or criminal prosecution," said Laird, whose duties at Northwest included hiring private screening firms for airports. "It was not correct that the U.S. government was not held to the same standard."

The TSA numbers, meanwhile, also show Midway Airport had 15 screeners fired after background checks revealed problems.

After Los Angeles and O'Hare, the airports with the most terminations included New York's Kennedy Airport with 55, Atlanta's airport with 43 and Newark's airport with 42.

"When we hire people, regrettably they're not always perfect," Rhatigan said, adding the airports with the most problems also are among the largest in terms of screener staffing and passengers.

[Bean Counter]

Gosh.

They found screeners in L.A. and Chicago had criminal records.

Say it ain't so. Two of the biggest politacal meccas for democrats.

I'm just shocked.

[mtbopfuyn]

Why am I not surprised?

[Cicero]

One of President Bush's misdeeds was to agree to putting the airport inspectors into a federal union, which was effectively Daschle's plan to put tens of thousands of new federal workers on the payroll to vote the Democratic line. Bush presumably agreed because he wanted to get his bill passed. But I think he should have resisted on this point back when the country was anxious to have increased security against another airline hijacking.

Of course Daschle and the Dems were chiefly responsible for bureaucratizing these people, with predictable results and predictable costs, but Bush must take part of the blame.

[oceanview]

they are finding and firing these people. when they worked for private companies who contracted to the airlines, they weren't screened, or checked, or fired. the fact that they are firing these people is good news.