PSH-24-0142 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On December 6, 2024, an Administrative Judge determined that an Individual's access authorization should not be restored under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. In March 2024, a DOE contractor detected the Individual transferring large amounts of data to a DOE site's network. An investigation determined that the Individual had inadvertently backed up over 100,000 sexually explicit files to the DOE site's network. The Individual subsequently underwent an evaluation by a DOE-contracted psychologist ( DOE Psychologist) who determined that the Individual was experiencing a major depressive episode at a moderate to severe level, the symptoms of which compromised his judgment, trustworthiness, and ability to comply with rules and policies. At the hearing, the Individual presented evidence to show that his mental health symptoms had stabilized, that a change in his medication would prevent him from experiencing similar symptoms in the future, and that he had taken measures to ensure that none of his personal files were inadvertently stored on the DOE site's network again. However, the DOE Psychologist opined that the Individual's prognosis for avoiding a future mental health episode that would compromise his judgment, trustworthiness, and reliability was only fair and the Individual did not bring forth sufficient evidence to mitigate the security concerns presented by his misuse of information technology. Therefore, the Administrative Judge determined that the Individual's access authorization should not be restored. (OHA Case No. PSH-24-0142, Harmonick)