Federal office investigates TSA for possible whistle-blower

WASHINGTON – A federal office is investigating the proposed removal of a Transportation Security Administration officer to determine whether she was fired for reporting infractions of her supervisor.

Kimberly Barnett, who worked for TSA for 12 years without disciplinary action, is one of three handlers of bomb-sniffing dog at Charleston International Airport in South Carolina.

She alleged to a TSA official in October 2013 that her supervisor was falsely recording the time he trained and used his dog to make it look as if he met the agency's requirements.

In June, Barnett repeated her accusation to the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that investigates and prosecutes cases involving employees. The office relayed the accusation to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA.

TSA moved to fire Barnett on Nov. 26 for allegedly cursing when telling her supervisor about an August accident when a bus hit her parked car, and later not acknowledging that she swore.

The Office of Special Counsel asked the Merit Systems Protection Board to postpone Barnett's firing until the office could investigate Barnett's case as a possible whistle-blower who suffered retaliation.

Board member Mark Robbins granted the 45-day delay Tuesday.

"I find that there are reasonable grounds to believe that TSA proposed Ms. Barnett's removal based on her protected disclosure," Robbins said in his five-page order.

TSA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.