Under an agreement with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), securityofficers will now be able to appeal whistleblower retaliation complaints tothe Board after exhausting options with the Office of Special Counsel(OSC). Additionally, OSC may now seek corrective action on behalf of a TSOwith the MSPB.

"The additional protection now afforded to our frontline officers enhancestheir ability to protect the traveling public," said TSA DeputyAdministrator Gale Rossides. "Giving our officers every opportunity tocommunicate security concerns without fear of reprisal is an important toolin a creative, engaged workforce."

The enhanced whistleblower protections continue the trend of majorworkforce initiatives at TSA. In 2007, TSA began providing full-time healthbenefits to part-time security officers. The agency has also institutedpay-for-performance and career progression programs, while offeringincreased opportunities for frontline security officers to participate inthe decision making process through the agency's innovative NationalAdvisory Council.

Prior to this agreement, the OSC, an independent, federal investigative andprosecutorial agency, investigated retaliation complaints and maderecommendations to TSA to take corrective and/or disciplinary action whenwarranted.

The MSPB is an independent, quasi-judicial agency with responsibility fordeciding Federal employee appeals from personnel actions taken againstthem, protecting the integrity of the civil service and other Federal meritsystems, and conducting studies of the civil service and other meritsystems in the Executive Branch.

For more information, please visit www.tsa.gov.