US: TSA says increased employee sick calls has ‘minimal impact’
The US TSA is pushing back against reports that a wave of employees calling out sick is extending screening wait times and compromising security at airports across the country. The increased number of call-outs is a result of the ongoing partial federal government shutdown in which roughly 51,000 TSA officers are expected to work without pay. Congress has voted to grant TSA employees backpay following previous government shutdowns. TSA said in a statement that it is closely monitoring the situation. “Call-outs began over the holiday period and have increased, but are causing minimal impact given there are 51,379 employees supporting the screening process. Security effectiveness will not be compromised, and performance standards will not change,” the agency said. The agency said screening wait times “may be affected depending on the number of call-outs,” but said wait times have remained well within TSA standards so far. TSA screened over 2.2m passengers Jan. 6 with 99.8% waiting less than 30 min. and 90.1% waiting less than 15 min., the agency said. TSA spokesman Michael Bilello disputed the reports, saying on his Twitter page that “regarding the CNN report on ‘sick outs’ at airports nationwide, the statistics reported are grossly inaccurate & an insult to the dedicated workforce.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2019-01-08/general/us-tsa-says-increased-employee-sick-calls-has-2018minimal-impact2019
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/logo.png
US: TSA says increased employee sick calls has ‘minimal impact’
The US TSA is pushing back against reports that a wave of employees calling out sick is extending screening wait times and compromising security at airports across the country. The increased number of call-outs is a result of the ongoing partial federal government shutdown in which roughly 51,000 TSA officers are expected to work without pay. Congress has voted to grant TSA employees backpay following previous government shutdowns. TSA said in a statement that it is closely monitoring the situation. “Call-outs began over the holiday period and have increased, but are causing minimal impact given there are 51,379 employees supporting the screening process. Security effectiveness will not be compromised, and performance standards will not change,” the agency said. The agency said screening wait times “may be affected depending on the number of call-outs,” but said wait times have remained well within TSA standards so far. TSA screened over 2.2m passengers Jan. 6 with 99.8% waiting less than 30 min. and 90.1% waiting less than 15 min., the agency said. TSA spokesman Michael Bilello disputed the reports, saying on his Twitter page that “regarding the CNN report on ‘sick outs’ at airports nationwide, the statistics reported are grossly inaccurate & an insult to the dedicated workforce.”<br/>
