TSA whistleblower faults agency's coronavirus response

A Transportation Security Administration official is accusing the agency of failing to adequately protect airport screeners from the new coronavirus, endangering both the officers and the traveling public.

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The top TSA official in Kansas, Jay Brainard, says the TSA’s actions amount to “gross mismanagement,” according to published reports.

Brainard filed a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel, which handles whistleblower complaints, and the special counsel has ordered an investigation, according to the Washington Post and National Public Radio.

“We did not take adequate steps to make sure that we were not becoming carriers and spreaders of the virus ourselves,” Brainard told NPR. “I believe absolutely that, that contributed to the spread of the coronavirus.”

The special counsel’s office declined to comment. Messages for Brainard’s attorney were not immediately returned.

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The TSA said in a statement Friday that it has followed guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in deciding protection standards for workers.

Spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said that at the start of the virus outbreak, TSA told employees that masks were optional, then made them mandatory at airport checkpoints in the first week of May.

Airport officers are required to wear nitrile gloves when they screen passengers. They must change gloves after every pat-down, and travelers can request the use of new gloves at any time, Farbstein said. Eye protection has remained optional for screeners.

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The agency added that plastic barriers have been installed at security checkpoints and areas where checked bags are dropped off for screening.

Brainard believes those procedures still have gaps, however, including no procedure for how to handle travelers who appear to be sick, the Post said.

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TSA says on its website that 706 of its employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and five have died, plus one screening contractor.

According to the published reports, the special counsel ordered TSA’s parent agency, the Homeland Security Department, to investigate Brainard’s allegations. By law, the special counsel only takes that step when it believes there is a “substantial likelihood” of wrongdoing.

The special counsel will review Homeland Security’s findings and issue a report to the White House and Congress.

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