DHS needs to ensure that allegations of employee misconduct are adjudicated consistently and uniformly, the ranking member on the House Homeland Security Committee has said.
Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., cited a GAO report finding that while steps have been taken to help manage the investigations and adjudication process – such as providing training to TSA staff at airports – additional procedures could help TSA better monitor the investigations and adjudications process.
According to GAO, TSA investigated and adjudicated approximately 9,600 cases of employee misconduct in fiscal 2010 – 2012; the annual number of TSA misconduct cases increased from 2,691 to 3,408 during that period. (TSA also increased staffing resources in its Office of Security Operations during that period as well, by 3,200 employees.)
However, TSA does not have a process for conducting reviews of misconduct cases to verify that TSA personnel are in compliance with policies and procedures for adjudicating employee misconduct, according to GAO-13-624.
It also noted that TSA does not record all misconduct case outcomes, including cases that resulted in corrective action or no penalty, in its Integrated Database.
"Given that TSOs do not have the same employment protections and due process rights that most federal employees have, it is critical that TSA review cases to ensure that policies and procedures regarding employee misconduct are being followed uniformly by managers and supervisors at different airports," Thompson wrote.
TSA agreed with GAO recommendations to establish a process to conduct reviews of misconduct cases to verify that TSA staff at airports are complying with policies and procedures for adjudicating employee misconduct, develop and issue guidance to the field clarifying the need for TSA officials at airports to record all misconduct case outcomes in the Integrated Database, and develop reconciliation procedures to identify allegations of employee misconduct not previously addressed through adjudication.