Decisions were issued on: - Personnel Security (10 CFR Part 710)
Office of Hearings and Appeals
May 30, 2014
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Personnel Security (10 CFR Part 710)
On May 29, 2014, an OHA Administrative Judge (AJ) issued a decision in which she concluded that the DOE should not restore an individual’s suspended DOE access authorization. A DOE Operations Office referred the individual to administrative review citing as security concerns the individual’s outstanding delinquent federal taxes and other debts and issues pertaining to his overall pattern of financial irresponsibility, as well as his misrepresentation of certain information on a security questionnaire and during a personnel security interview. After conducting a hearing, convened at the individual’s request, and evaluating all relevant evidence, the AJ concluded that the individual mitigated the security concerns raised by his misstatements on the security questionnaire and during the security interview because the individual did not deliberately attempt to mislead the DOE. However, the AJ further determined that the individual had not resolved the security concerns raised by his pattern of financial irresponsibility. In this regard, the AJ found that, although the individual’s old debts were discharged in bankruptcy, he remained in a very precarious financial position as of the date of the hearing. Therefore, the AJ was unable to conclude that the individual’s financial difficulties were in the past and unlikely to recur such that they did not cast doubt on his current reliability, trustworthiness or good judgment. OHA Case No. PSH-14-0001 (Diane DeMoura)
On May 29, 2014, an OHA Administrative Judge issued a decision in which he determined that an individual’s DOE access authorization should not be restored. The individual has a history of four arrests for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI). A DOE psychologist also found that the individual habitually used alcohol to excess. At the hearing, the individual unsuccessfully attempted to show that his consumption of alcohol was not problematic and appropriate under National Institute of Health Guidelines. The Administrative Judge found that there was an insufficient basis for concluding that the individual’s excessive use of alcohol was habitual. However, the Administrative Judge found that the individual had not resolved the security concerns about his arising from his most recent DUI, since the individual had repeatedly provided inconsistent and difficult-to-believe information concerning his alcohol history and consumption. Accordingly, the Administrative Judge found that the individual had not mitigated the security concerns. OHA Case No. PSH-14-0020 (Steven L. Fine)
On May 29, 2014, an OHA Administrative Judge (AJ) issued a decision in which she concluded that the DOE should not grant an individual access authorization. A DOE Operations Office referred the individual, an applicant for DOE access authorization, to administrative review citing security concerns pertaining to the individual’s use of alcohol, including his self-reported pattern of alcohol consumption, the opinion of the DOE consultant-psychologist that the individual was a user of alcohol habitually to excess, and several past alcohol-related legal incidents. The Operations Office cited as an additional security concern the DOE consultant-psychiatrist’s opinion that the individual’s “self-protective lack of candidness is concerning and that his difficulty being fully truthful is an illness or mental condition which causes, or may cause, significant defects in his judgment or reliability.” Following the hearing, convened at the individual’s request, the AJ determined that the record did not support a finding that there existed a separate security concern regarding the individual’s candor. Rather, she concluded that the cited instances in which the individual exhibited a lack of candor were limited to his minimization of his past alcohol use, and that such minimization was a product of the alcohol-related condition with which the individual had been diagnosed. However, with respect to individual’s alcohol consumption, the AJ concluded that the individual had failed to mitigate the related security concerns. Specifically, the AJ found the individual presented no evidence of rehabilitation. Consequently, the AJ determined that the DOE should not grant the individual access authorization. OHA Case No. PSH-14-0032 (Diane DeMoura)