Congress orders study on paying TSA workers for commute time
S. 1483 — TSA Commuting Fairness Act · Filed by Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) · Introduced Apr 10, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs the Transportation Security Administration to study whether TSA employees' commute time from parking lots and transit stops to their airport workstations should count as paid work hours. The study must examine feasibility, costs, and benefits across different airport sizes, with results due to Congress within 270 days. No immediate change to pay or benefits occurs; this is a research mandate only.
Why we flagged it
The bill is purely procedural—it orders a feasibility study on a single workforce benefit question. It contains no operative policy change, appropriation, or regulatory action. The study itself is the entire substance.
What the text implies
- If the study recommends paid commute time, implementation could increase TSA's annual labor costs by millions of dollars, potentially affecting airport security staffing levels or requiring budget reallocation.
- Treating commute time as on-duty hours for retirement calculations could significantly increase TSA's long-term pension liabilities, a cost not quantified in the bill itself.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
TSA employees (if study leads to paid commute time)