PSH-19-0003 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On April 16, 2019, an OHA Administrative Judge issued a decision in which she determined that an individual's DOE access authorization should not be restored. To support the Guideline F security concerns, the LSO relied upon the fact that the Individual failed to file her 2017 state or federal income taxes; owes the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) $129,852.68, is not on a payment plan nor is able to pay this debt; and owes over $6,500.00 to a state tax entity. After carefully considering the totality of the record, the Administrative Judge found that the Individual's clearance should not be restored. The Individual claimed that the amount owed to the IRS accrued in 2011 when her then-husband accepted a 401K payout from a previous employer. However in the eight years since the tax debt accrued, the Individual took few steps to resolve it. She did not file an Innocent Spouse form until 2019 and did not make regular payments on the debt. As of her hearing, the Individual was not on an IRS accepted payment plan. At that time, she owed nearly $150,000.00 between her federal and state tax debt and had no means to pay the balances in the near future. Though the Individual did begin taking steps to address these issues after the PSI, very little has changed about the circumstances of the Individual’s debt since the date of the Notification Letter. Consequently, based on all of the above, the Administrative Judge found that the Individual's access authorization should not be restored at this time. OHA Case No. PSH-19-0003 (Janet R. H. Fishman).