TSA Officers Get Retroactive Pay Amidst Partial DHS Shutdown

Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers started getting retroactive paychecks on Monday for the weeks they have worked without pay during the 44-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

This payment came after House Republicans rejected a bipartisan Senate deal to reopen much of DHS, including TSA, leaving the department unfunded as lawmakers left Washington for a two-week Easter recess.

However, President Trump's executive order, signed on Friday, tapped into a different source of funding to pay TSA officers, a move aimed at easing long security wait times and encouraging transportation security officers to show up for work, as call-out rates topped 12 percent on Friday.

Most TSA officers began getting paid Monday for pay periods 4 and 5, the most recent stretches of time interrupted by the shutdown, but officials cautioned that government workers might see some delays in receiving full back pay.

According to DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis, most TSA employees received a retroactive paycheck today that included at least two full paychecks covering pay periods 4 and 5. The DHS shutdown, which started on February 14, began in the middle of the third pay period, and Bis said DHS is working aggressively with the relevant financial institutions to complete processing for the half paycheck they are owed from pay period 3 as soon as possible.

Bis said some TSA employees might see a slight delay for reasons including financial institution processing times or issues with their direct deposit.

Even after Trump announced his intention on Thursday evening to sign an executive order to pay TSA workers, officers were absent from work on Friday at the highest rate recorded during this shutdown.

The national call-out rate hit 12.35 percent on Friday, dropping slightly to 10.59 percent on Sunday, according to DHS.

Many of the major airports continued to report high call-out rates on Sunday: 38.5 percent at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport; 36.4 percent at George Bush Intercontinental Airport; 34.1 percent at William P. Hobby Airport; 34.1 percent at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport; 33.7 percent at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; 29.6 percent at John F. Kennedy International Airport; 23.4 percent at Pittsburgh International Airport; 23 percent at Philadelphia International Airport; and 22.9 percent at LaGuardia Airport.

Trump deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to more than a dozen major airports across the country last Monday in an effort to ease long lines and travel delays caused by the TSA staffing strain.

By the middle of the week, ICE officers were spotted getting trained in non-specialized screening and taking on some TSA duties, including checking identification, guarding exits and entrances, and manning the queue.

White House border czar Tom Homan, who has been tasked with overseeing the ICE deployment at airports, said on Sunday that ICE officers will remain at airports to support the strained TSA workforce until the immigration officers are no longer needed.

Lawmakers departed Washington on Friday for a two-week Easter recess without securing a deal to fund and reopen DHS.

The Republican-controlled Senate passed a bipartisan deal to reopen most of DHS, but the GOP-led House rejected the compromise, leaving many DHS employees without pay before the holiday break.

AFGE TSA Council 100 President Hydrick Thomas slammed Congress for leaving Washington before ending the partial shutdown. Thomas said members are grateful to receive some backpay, but noted that many TSA officers face late fees and credit card interest.