PSH-18-0044 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On September 20, 2018, an Administrative Judge determined that an Individual's access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part   710 should be restored.  The Individual is employed by a DOE contractor in a position that requires her to hold a DOE    security clearance. During the course of a regular reinvestigation, the Individual admitted to consuming excessive quantities    of alcohol on a weekly basis. Her alcohol consumption had increased steadily for several years. Because its concerns were alcohol related, the Local Security Office referred the Individual to a DOE Psychologist for evaluation. The DOE    Psychologist diagnosed the Individual as suffering from Alcohol Use Disorder, Moderate. During the hearing, the Individual testified that she had abstained from alcohol for eight months and had been attending counseling for five months. The DOE Psychologist testified that she had recommended six months of abstinence and treatment. Though the Individual had only    been in treatment for five months, the Psychologist opined that she was rehabilitated because she had abstained for longer    than six months and had been involved in therapeutic treatment before beginning counseling five months prior. The Individual submitted into the record the results of medical testing showing that she had not consumed alcohol.

The Administrative Judge concluded that, based on all the evidence of record in this case, the opinion of the DOE psychologist was consistent with the witness testimony and his observations in this case. He found that the Individual had acknowledged her pattern of maladaptive alcohol use, had provided substantial evidence of actions taken to overcome his problem, and had demonstrated a clear and established pattern of abstinence, pursuant to the mitigating factors of Guideline G. He therefore found that the Individual has resolved the concerns regarding her alcohol consumption, and concluded that the Individual's access authorization should be restored. OHA Case No. PSH-18-0044 (Richard A. Cronin, Jr.).