PSH-24-0071 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On June 25, 2024, an Administrative Judge determined that an individual's access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710 should be granted. The Individual is employed by a DOE contractor in a position that requires him to hold an access authorization. On February 10, 2023, the Individual completed a Questionnaire for National Security Positions (QNSP) in which he disclosed that, in the prior seven years, he had "failed to file or pay Federal, state, or other taxes when required by law." Specifically, he indicated that he had not filed his state income taxes for the 2015 through 2020 tax years. Due to concerns about his tax situation, the Local Security Office (LSO) requested that the Individual complete a Letter of Interrogatory (LOI) in which he stated that he had filed his state income taxes for the relevant tax years. Through a subsequent email exchange with the LSO, the Individual discovered that his state income taxes had not been appropriately filed as he thought they had been. At the hearing, the Individual explained the circumstances surrounding his failure to file his state income taxes as well as the erroneous answers he provided on the LOI and in the email exchange with the LSO. The Individual also submitted copies of his filed state income returns for the relevant years. The Administrative Judge determined that the Individual had mitigated the Guideline E and Guideline F security concerns, and she concluded that the Individual's access authorization should be granted. ( OHA Case No. PSH-24-0071, Quintana)