PSH-21-0117 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On February 4, 2022, an Administrative Judge determined that the Individual's access authorization should be restored under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. The Individual is employed by a DOE contractor in a position that requires her to hold a security clearance. The Local Security Office (LSO) received potentially derogatory information regarding the Individual's personal conduct and drug use. The Individual signed and submitted a Questionnaire for National Security Positions (QNSP), in which she answered questions pertaining to her prior drug use. She indicated that she had consumed an ex-partner's prescription medication and an illicit substance. She failed to self-report the use of the aforementioned substances prior to submitting the QNSP.

At the hearing, the Individual and five other witnesses testified, including the Individual's expert. The evidence in the record revealed that at the time the Individual consumed the controlled substances, she was in a physically and verbally abusive relationship. Accordingly, her judgement had been clouded. As a result of the duress and abuse she faced at the hands of her former partner, the Individual behaved in an uncharacteristic manner. She ultimately separated and discontinued contact with her former partner in 2017. The Individual's expert opined that the Individual's judgement is now intact and that she has learned from the experience. In separating from her former partner, she removed herself from the circumstances that negatively affected her judgement, and thus, eliminated her vulnerability to exploitation, duress, or manipulation. Further, her association with her former partner, a person who routinely used controlled substances, has ceased. Accordingly, the Individual had mitigated Guideline E concerns pursuant to mitigating factors 17(e) and (g). Further, as the credible evidence indicated that the Individual had not used any controlled substances since 2017, the Individual had mitigated the Guideline H concerns pursuant to mitigating factor 26(a).

Accordingly, the Individual was able to demonstrate that she had fully resolved the security concerns arising under Guidelines E and H. OHA Case No. PSH-21-0117, Jenkins-Chapman)