Decisions were issued on: - Personnel Security (10 CFR Part 710)
Office of Hearings and Appeals
April 22, 2013
minute read time
Personnel Security Hearing (10 CFR Part 710)
On April 16, 2013, a Hearing Officer issued a decision in which he determined that an individual’s access authorization should be restored. In reaching this determination, the Hearing Officer found that the individual had resolved security concerns associated with a July 2012 Driving While Intoxicated arrest and a Alcohol Abuse diagnosis by a DOE psychologist. At the hearing, the individual submitted substantial evidence regarding his successful completion of an intensive outpatient program for his Alcohol Abuse and his intention to forever continue his abstinence from alcohol. The individual also submitted testimony from others attesting to his changed attitude regarding alcohol and the other significant changes he has made in his life. After hearing the testimony, the DOE psychologist opined that the individual had demonstrated sufficient evidence of rehabilitation from his Alcohol Abuse problem and that the individual’s risk of future problematic alcohol use was low. Based upon the evidence described above, the Hearing Officer found that the individual’s security clearance should be restored. OHA Case No. PSH-12-0145 (Richard Cronin, H.O.)
On April 19, 2013, an OHA Hearing Officer issued a decision in which he determined that the DOE should not grant an individual access authorization. As security concerns, a Local Security Office (LSO) cited the individual’s history of criminal conduct, financial problems, and past use of alcohol habitually to excess. The LSO also cited the report of a DOE psychologist, in which he identified the individual’s lack of control over his spending and use of alcohol as a mental condition that causes a significant defect in his judgment and reliability. The Hearing Officer found that: (1) the individual had not resolved the concerns raised by his problematic use of alcohol, as he had received no treatment in the six months since being arrested for DWI, and had previously relapsed after abstaining from alcohol for six years; (2) the individual had not resolved the concerns raised by his criminal conduct to the extent that the arrests at issue were related to his use of alcohol; (3) the individual had not resolved the financial concerns raised, because he had essentially taken no action to resolve his indebtedness, with the exception of filing for bankruptcy in 2003, after which he simply accumulated more debt, which he had no significant attempt to repay; and (4) the individual had not resolved the concerns raised under by the DOE psychologist’s report, particularly given the psychologist’s testimony that there was a high likelihood that the individual will continue to have significant defects in his judgment and reliability. OHA Case No. PSH-13-0006 (Steven J. Goering, H.O.)
On April 17, 2013, an OHA Hearing Officer issued a decision in which he determined that the DOE should not restore an individual’s access authorization. As security concerns, a Local Security Office (LSO) cited a DOE psychiatrist’s diagnosis of Alcohol Abuse and Major Depression, a history of binge alcohol drinking, and two alcohol-related arrests. The Hearing Officer found that the individual had not resolved the concerns related to his alcohol abuse and depression: though the individual is now taking medications and receiving counseling, the Hearing Officer was convinced that his treatment plan was not sufficiently intensive to address his mental health problems. The Hearing Officer further found that the individual had not resolved the concerns raised by arrests, as they relate to alcohol issues that have not yet been sufficiently addressed. OHA Case No. PSH-12-0143 (William M. Schwartz, H.O.)