PSH-18-0026 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

PSH-18-0026

On June 28, 2018, an OHA Administrative Judge (AJ) issued a decision in which he determined that an individual's DOE access authorization should be restored. A DOE-consultant psychologist (DOE psychologist) had diagnosed the individual with a mild alcohol use disorder under the DSM-5. The individual also had acknowledged that he was an alcoholic and that he had a problem with alcohol. The individual had been charged with DUI in April 2017 and had been arrested in two alcohol-related incidents more than 25 years earlier. When the individual's Local Security Office (LSO) raised concerns about these issues in a Notification Letter, the individual requested a hearing. At the hearing and through evidence submitted into the record, the individual demonstrated that he has been abstinent for over a year. He further established that he completed an intensi ve outpatient program and that he attended around four AA meetings a week for over a year, completed the 12-step method, and maintained a relationship with an AA sponsor. He also introduced evidence showing that that he had supported his recovery by becoming a church member and expanding his support network. At the hearing, the DOE psychologist testified that the individual had complied with her treatment recommendation, that his alcohol use disorder is in sustained remission, and that his prognosis for maintaining abstinence is very good to excellent. Consequently, the AJ found that the evidence in the record mitigated the security concerns that the LSO had raised about the individual's alcohol consumption, and that the individual's access authorization should be restored.  OHA Case No. PSH-18-0026 (Gregory S. Krauss).