Sick days among Transportation Security Administration employees have increased since a partial government shutdown beginning Dec. 22 left TSA personnel working without pay, the agency announced Friday.
An increase in call-outs — workers who say they are too sick to work their shifts —started over the holidays and has grown, but the phenomenon is causing a “minimal impact” on the security screening process at airports, the agency says in a tweet.
“Security effectiveness will not be compromised and performance standards will not change . . . To date, however, screening wait times remain well within TSA standards,” the statement said.
The information was released as a response to a CNN report saying mass TSA worker call-outs had affected four major airports. The New York Times also reported on the call-outs.
Of the 2.2 million passengers screened by the agency Thursday, 99.8 percent waited less than 30 minutes, according to the TSA statement.
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SOURCE: USA Today, Joel Shannon
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