Revelations that top Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials interfered with disciplinary policies geared to prevent favoritism drew commendation from bipartisan leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday.
A report by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General found that the former TSA deputy administrator, current chief counsel and former Office of Professional Responsibility assistant administrator interfered in an employee disciplinary matter in June 2015.
An anonymous complaint accused the employee of engaging in an inappropriate workplace relationship with a subordinate employee. The employee initially denied the allegations but later admitted to having an “emotionally intimate” relationship with the subordinate employee when confronted with email records.
“TSA senior leaders deviated from standard policy and practice in a number of key respects indicating that the TSES Employee received unusually favorable treatment in the resolution of his disciplinary matter,” the report stated. “Our review specifically found that former Deputy Administrator Mark Hatfield, Chief Counsel Francine Kerner, and former Office of Professional Responsibility Assistant Administrator Heather Book each interfered with the disciplinary process in a way that circumvented the very TSA policies and procedures that were established to prevent favoritism in such circumstances.”
U.S. Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the ranking member of the committee, condemned the report’s findings in a joint statement.
“TSA must immediately implement the Inspector General’s recommendations to ensure it conducts all disciplinary actions in a fair and impartial manner without regard to position while also protecting the rights of whistleblowers,” the lawmakers stated. “The committee will continue to investigate allegations of misconduct, mismanagement, and whistleblower retaliation to ensure we hold TSA officials accountable for their actions.”