PSH-18-0006 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On May 9, 2018, an OHA Administrative Judge issued a decision in which he determined that an individual's DOE access authorization should not be granted. The LSO's security concerns were based upon the individual's failure to file federal and state taxes for tax years 2011 through 2015, as well as his failure to pay federal and state taxes owed for tax years 2009 and 2010. At the hearing, the individual presented evidence that he had begun assembling the necessary paperwork to file his taxes and that he had filed taxes for 2015 and 2017. He had not made any voluntary payments on his tax debts since 2011, despite numerous promises to OPM and LSO investigators that he would do so in the near future. After carefully considering the totality of the record, the Administrative Judge found that the individual had not resolved the concerns raised under Guideline F regarding his failure to file and pay his taxes because he had not made payments on his state tax debt and he had not demonstrated how he planned to resolve the tax debts and avoid similar problems in the future. Consequently, based on all of the above, the Administrative Judge found that the individual's access authorization should not be granted. OHA Case No. PSH-18-0006 (William M. Schwartz)