It's never a good situation when someone sleeps on the job, but for those who are responsible for the security and safety of hundreds to thousands of people, it's an even bigger issue. On Wednesday, eight Transportation Security Administration employees at Newark Airport were fired after getting caught sleeping on the job, among other screening procedure violations.
CNN reports that six men and two female TSA agents were caught violating protocols on security cameras in December. All of the workers were assigned to a bag room in Terminal B of Newark Airport. The workers, who have between five and 10 years of experience at airports, will no longer be allowed to work for the agency.
The Homeland Security Office of Inspector General spent hours looking through surveillance tape and found that many of the agents were sleeping during work shifts or violating other rules when they should have been screening bags.
The investigation was part of a follow up after several TSA agents violated protocols last year. In April 2011, the federal security director of Newark Liberty International Airport was fired after several security breaches. Some of the issues included a knife that was brought on board and a dead dog in another case. The items were never screened, according to NBC.
In a CNN report, the TSA said, "The decision to take disciplinary action, including the proposed immediate removal of eight individuals from the TSA, reaffirms our strong commitment to ensure the safety of the traveling public and to hold all our employees to the highest standards of conduct and accountability."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
