Posted on 06/03/2002 2:58:17 PM PDT by blackbag
U.S. Office of Special Counsel and TSA Sign Memorandum of Understanding
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) to handle whistleblower complaints from security screeners employed by TSA.
The Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), which created the TSA, provides the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security a wide degree of flexibility to set personnel policy for security screeners. Security screeners were not specifically covered by the Whistleblower Protection Act. All other TSA employees are covered by the Whistleblower Protection Act.
One way to ensure aviation security is for screeners to feel free to make disclosures of wrongdoing without fear of retaliation. The TSA also made the determination that the best way to recruit and hire high quality security screeners was to provide a comprehensive set of employee benefits and protections, including whistleblower protection. TSA and OSC have fashioned an arrangement where the U.S. Office of Special Counsel will receive and investigate whistleblower retaliation complaints.
"Today I am very pleased to announce that TSA security screeners will have protection from retaliation for whistleblowing," said John W. Magaw, Under Secretary of Transportation for Security. "Our screeners need to focus on providing the highest possible level of security screening. TSA screeners should not fear retaliation for disclosing wrongdoing."
TSA security screeners who feel they have been retaliated against for reporting misconduct will now be able to file a complaint with the Office of the Special Counsel. The Special Counsel will investigate these whistleblower complaints, determine their merit and provide the Under Secretary of Transportation with a recommendation for a corrective action, if needed. The Under Secretary will then act on that recommendation in a way that ensures whistleblower protection and maintains the integrity of airport security.
WPA, 2002.
A little hard to do with the I.Q. of a grape.
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