PSH-22-0052 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On April 27, 2022, an Administrative Judge (AJ) determined that an Individual's access authorization should not be restored under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. The Individual is an employee of a DOE contractor in a position that requires the possession of a security clearance. The DOE Local Security Office ( LSO) discovered information regarding the Individual's failure to meet financial obligations and his history of omitting relevant facts from personnel security questionnaires. Subsequently, the LSO informed the Individual that it possessed reliable information that created substantial doubt regarding his eligibility to possess a security clearance.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the AJ determined that the LSO appropriately invoked Guideline F of the Adjudicative Guidelines because the LSO cited that, in 2020, the Individual had two past due account balances; the Individual was reprimanded in 2014 for using his company card for personal expenses and not paying the bill on time; his wages were previously garnished due to a tax lien; he failed to file federal and state tax returns for several years between 2007 and 2020; and he has a history of failing to pay his state taxes timely. The AJ also determined that the LSO appropriately invoked Guideline E because the LSO cited that the Individual failed to report the following information on personnel security questionnaires: a past due pest control bill that went to collection in 2017, seven delinquent accounts, several state tax liens, and wage garnishments stemming from tax liens.

The AJ also determined that the Individual had not resolved the security concerns for the following reasons. As to Guideline F, the AJ found that (1) the Individual failed to demonstrate that he filed his tax returns for 2010, 2011, and 2012; (2) the Individual failed to timely file more than a decade's worth of tax returns over two separate, multi-year spans, and he failed to file the second batch of tax returns until a year after the DOE suspended his security clearance; and (3) the Individual delayed in resolving the pest control bill for over a year after being notified. As to Guideline E, the AJ (1) found concerning the Individual's testimony that he did not adequately read the personnel security questionnaires and (2) found that the Individual's testimony regarding his failure to report wage garnishments was not credible.

Accordingly, the AJ concluded that the Individual had not resolved the Guideline F and E security concerns. (OHA Case No. PSH-22-0052, Thompson III)