Decisions were issued on: - Personnel Security
Office of Hearings and Appeals
May 12, 2023
minute read time
Personnel Security Hearing (PSH)
Guideline G (Alcohol Consumption); Access Authorization Not Restored
On May 9, 2023, an Administrative Judge found that an Individual's security clearance should not be restored. The Individual had been arrested and charged with DUI in 2022, his fifth drinking and driving charge since 2001. A DOE-contractor Psychologist opined that the Individual binge drank to intoxication. The Individual testified that he did not need treatment because he did not have a problem with alcohol. He was still consuming alcohol but testified that he did not intend to drink and drive in the future. The Administrative found that the security concerns about the Individual's alcohol consumption were not resolved and, therefore the Individual's security clearance should not be restored. (OHA Case No. PSH-23-0031, Martin)
Access Authorization Restored; Guideline G
On May 9, 2023, an Administrative Judge (AJ) determined that an Individual's access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710 should be restored.
A DOE Contractor Psychologist (the "Psychologist") found that the Individual had met the criteria set forth in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fifth Edition (DSM-5) for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), Severe, in early remission and that the Individual was neither reformed nor rehabilitated since he had only been abstaining from alcohol use for three months.
The AJ found that the Individual has shown himself to be deeply committed to his sobriety and highly motived to achieve it. The AJ noted that the Individual had complied with the Psychologist's treatment recommendations by (1) attending and completing an inpatient alcohol treatment program,
(2) becoming highly engaged in Alcoholics Anonymous, and (3) receiving individual counseling. Most importantly, the Individual had been able to limit himself to consuming two sixteen -once beers during the past thirteen months. At the time of the hearing, it had been over seven months since he last consumed alcohol. The AJ further noted that he and the Psychologist were both impressed by the Individual's candor at the hearing and his willingness to hold himself accountable. The AJ further found that the Individual had abstained from all alcohol use for a seven -month period demonstrating a clear and established pattern of abstinence in accordance with the Psychologist's recommendations that he abstain from alcohol for six months.
The Administrative Judge therefore concluded that the Individual's access authorization should be restored. (OHA Case No. PSH-23-0021, Fine)