PSH-22-0033 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On May 16, 2022, an Administrative Judge (AJ) determined that an Individual's access authorization should be restored under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. The DOE Local Security Office (LSO) discovered derogatory information regarding the Individual's alcohol use, which prompted the LSO to request that the Individual be evaluated by a DOE -consultant psychologist ("Psychologist"). Subsequently, the LSO informed the Individual that it possessed reliable information that created substantial doubt regarding his eligibility to possess a security clearance because derogatory information raised security concerns under Guideline G of the Adjudicative Guidelines.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the AJ determined that the LSO appropriately invoked Guideline G by citing that the Psychologist's opinion that the Individual engaged in the heavy consumption of alcohol by either binging or drinking significant amounts on a frequent basis, by citing the Psychologist's opinion that the Individual met the diagnosis criteria for Unspecified Alcohol -Related Disorder (AUD), and by citing that in May 2020 the Individual consumed six beers prior to his arrest for Battery Against a Household Member (no great bodily harm).

The AJ also concluded the Individual had resolved the Guideline G security concerns for the following reasons. The Individual acknowledged his pattern of maladaptive alcohol use and  put forth evidence of the actions that he has taken to overcome the problem, including abstaining from alcohol; enlisting the continuing support of his wife; successfully completing an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), an anger management course, and a marriage counseling course; and participating in individual counseling, an aftercare treatment program, and his employer's two -year abstinence and recovery program. The Individual was therefore participating in both counseling and a treatment program. The IOP was the Individual's first alcohol-related treatment, and he has no history of relapse . Furthermore, the Individual demonstrated a clear and established pattern of abstinence in accordance with treatment recommendations by exceeding the Psychologist's recommendations for reformation and rehabilitation, making satisfactory progress in his counseling and treatment programs, and receiving a very good prognosis.

Accordingly, the AJ concluded that the Individual had resolved the Guideline G security concerns . OHA Case No. PSH-22-0033 (James P. Thompson III)