PSH-22-0065 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

Access Authorization Not Granted; Guideline G (Alcohol Consumption)

On August 19, 2022, an Administrative Jude determined that the Individual's access authorization should not be granted under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. The Individual is employed by a DOE contractor in a position that requires him to hold a security clearance. the Local Security Office (LSO) received potentially derogatory information regarding the Individual's alcohol consumption. The LSO alleged that on December 8, 2021, the DOE Psychologist determined that the Individual habitually consumes alcohol to the point of impaired judgement, without adequate evidence of rehabilitation or reformation . The LSO also alleged that the Individual had four alcohol-related arrests from 1979 to 1996.

At the hearing, the Individual, his former supervisor, his current coworker, and the DOE Psychologist testified. The evidence in the record established that the Individual had not participated in an intensive outpatient treatment program (IOP), that he had not attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in the recent past, and that he had not submitted to alcohol testing since undergoing an evaluation with the DOE Psychologist. The Individual also testified that he had been abstinent from alcohol since October 24, 2021, and that he intended to make an appointment with his employer's Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in August 2022. The Individual further testified that he was motivated to maintain his abstinence to address some concerns he has over his health and stated that he no longer keeps alcohol in his home. The Individual also testified that he no longer experiences any difficulty being around others who consume alcohol, interacts with less people since abstaining from alcohol, and spends more time exercising and reading.

The Individual's witnesses testified that they have never observed the Individual report to work under the influence of alcohol or in a hungover state, and neither witness expressed any concern over the amount of alcohol the Individual consumed. The DOE Psychologist testified that the Individual had not shown adequate evidence of rehabilitation or reformation.

The Administrative Judge could not conclude that the Individual had mitigated the Guideline G concerns. The Individual had failed to participate in any kind of a treatment program, therapy, counseling, and any accompanying aftercare. Although he had recognized his alcohol use was maladaptive and testified that he had been sober since October 24, 2021, he had failed to achieve a full year of sobriety, as was recommended by the DOE Psychologist. While the Individual's last alcohol-related charge took place decades ago, the Individual continued to consume alcohol into the recent past, even reporting that as late as April 2021, he was consuming alcohol to intoxication at an approximate rate of once a week. This taken with the Individual's past history of alcohol -related arrests resulted in the conclusion that the behavior in question, the Individual's habitual use of alcohol to the point of impaired judgment, did not occur so long ago or take place under such unusual circumstances that it does not cast doubt on the individual's current reliability, trustworthiness, or judgment. Based on the evidence, the Administrative Judge concluded that the Individual had not mitigated Guideline G concerns. (OHA Case No. PSH-22-0065, Cronin)