Was Placed On Paid Administrative Leave

The TSA agent who left his post unattended, allowing a Rutgers graduate student to breach security and meet his girlfriend in a "passengers only" area of Newark Liberty Airport, will be reinstated, TSA confirmed Friday.

The still unnamed guard left his post at a security station at Newark Liberty Airport, which allowed Rutgers student Haisong Jiang to duck under a security rope and give his girlfriend a final kiss before she departed to California. The agent was placed on paid administrative leave on January 5th, two days after the incident occurred.

TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said the guard's leave ends Saturday.  He was paid for the more than two months he was on leave as a result of the incident, which closed Terminal C at the airport for six hours and forced thousands of passengers who had already been screened to clear security a second time. While TSA did not disclose the guard's salary, the average base pay for that position is between $25,141 and $43,357.

Jiang pleaded guilty Tuesday to defiant trespass, and was ordered to pay a $500 fine along with $158 in court costs. He will also perform 100 hours of community service.

FMI: www.tsa.gov