BY CHRISTINE SAVOIA

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The Transportation Security Administration is taking more heat this week after it announced that it was pursuing disciplinary action against six New Jersey-based baggage screeners.

According to the Associated Press, the screeners, who work for the TSA at Newark Liberty International Airport, have been suspended pending allegations that they did not follow proper baggage screening procedure, with some even being accused of sleeping on the job.

The union representing the TSA declined to comment, as the case is still open.

This follows on the heels of an investigation of another Newark TSA screener, who faces possible dismissal for “failing on Dec. 22 to adequately check two bags that raised concerns, causing two planeloads of luggage to be rescreened,” according to the Associated Press.

The TSA, which maintains 7,000 baggage screening locations at over 450 airports nationwide, claims on that it fields “new equipment and protocols to ensure the latest available technology is used to both screen checked baggage and to maximize efficiency”.

The Associated Press, however, also reports that a “lack of communication” between TSA officers on different shifts led to a scare at LaGuardia Airport this week. The bomb squad was called in when officers could not identify a homeopathic medical device, which its owner voluntarily surrendered to the TSA.

It was also only last week that Senator Rand Paul called for the disassembly of the TSA after a false alarm during screening caused him to miss his flight to Washington. Following that incident, his father – Republican presidential nominee Ron Paul – criticized the TSA for providing a mere “illusion” of security.