The Trump administration has temporarily frozen hiring at the Transportation Security Administration, the second such pause in recent months at the Homeland Security Department.
TSA expects to lift the freeze in late April to prepare for its busy travel season in the summer. Those hires will be onboarded and trained in time for the peak travel season, the agency said. In addition to hiring, TSA has also frozen overtime. The agency said it has to prioritize its resources in anticipation of its upcoming busy season.
“In anticipation of another record-breaking summer travel season, the Transportation Security Administration is managing resources by prioritizing overtime to the busiest of travel periods,” the agency said in a statement. “Additionally, TSA will continue to assess applicants for entry into TSA, and will conduct two extended hiring windows to coincide with the busy summer travel season.”
The freeze was first reported by KUER Radio in Utah. Officials told KUER that management said the pause was necessary to fund the 3.1% governmentwide pay raise Congress approved and Trump signed into law late last year.
TSA’s freeze could have significant consequences as the agency has long struggled with turnover. In fiscal 2017, one-in-five of its screeners left within their first six months, according to the DHS inspector general (TSA has countered that the rate was actually one-in-six). TSA officials have said employees at airports in competitive job markets can earn more money at a retail store or a sandwich shop than as an entry-level screener. Those screeners earn around $35,000 in starting salary, depending on where they work. Employees have also complained they were never informed about opportunities t ..
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