Decisions were issued on: - Personnel Security
Office of Hearings and Appeals
December 3, 2021
minute read time
Personnel Security Hearing (PSH)
Access Authorization Granted; Guideline F (Financial Considerations)
On November 30, 2021, an Administrative Judge determined that an individual's access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710 should be granted. The Individual is employed by a DOE contractor in a position that requires her to hold a DOE security clearance. As part of the investigation for her security clearance, the Individual completed a Questionnaire for National Security Positions (QNSP) on which she listed numerous delinquent and charged- off debts. During the hearing, the Individual testified that, in the last three years of her ten- year marriage, she learned that her now ex-husband was using illegal drugs and had incurred substantial debts in her name and without her knowledge. Through her testimony, the Individual addressed each of the debts listed on the Summary of Security Concerns, explaining the debt and how she has worked, or is working, to resolve it. She additionally submitted documentation into the record to corroborate her testimony. After considering the evidence in the record and testimony presented at the hearing, the Administrative Judge determined that the Individual had resolved the security concerns associated with Guideline F
Accordingly, she concluded that the Individual's access authorization should be granted. OHA Case No. PSH-21-0105 (Katie Quintana)
Access Authorization Granted; Guideline I (Psychological Conditions).
On December 3, 2021, an Administrative Judge determined that the Individual's access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710 should be granted. The Individual is employed as a DOE contractor in a position that requires him to hold a DOE security clearance. As part of an investigation, he Individual completed a Questionnaire for National Security Positions ( QNSP), in connection with seeking access authorization. Exhibit (Ex.) 7 at 43. In response to one of the questions regarding psychological and emotional health, the Individual responded that he had been hospitalized on three occasions for a mental health condition in 2013, August 2008, and May 1985. Id. at 28-29. After examining the Individual, a DOE- contractor psychologist determined that the Individual met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria for Delusional Disorder, Grandiose Type, a mental condition that impairs judgement, reliability, stability, and trustworthiness.
At the hearing, the Individual presented expert testimony establishing that his latest two hospitalizations resulted from withdrawal from marijuana use combined with lack of sleep. The expert witnesses also opined that the Individual did not suffer from Delusional Disorder. The Individual's expert witnesses opined that the Individual would not suffer similar psychiatric symptoms as long as he did not use marijuana. The DOE Psychologist testified that he no longer believes that the Individual suffered from Delusional Disorder
The Administrative Judge determined that there was no evidence that the Individual had not used marijuana since 2013, approximately 8 years prior to the hearing. Further the Administrative Judge found the Individual's experts convincing regarding the absence of Delusional Disorder in the Individual and the cause of the Individual's prior mental health hospitalizations. The Administrative Judge found that the Individual had been faithfully receiving treatment for his diagnosed Adult Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder for the prior three years. Consequently, the Administrative Judge found that the Individual had mitigated the security concerns raised by the Guideline I derogatory information. Based on the testimony of all witnesses and the evidence submitted, the Administrative Judge concluded that the Individual's access authorization should be granted. OHA Case No. PSH-21-0085 (Richard A. Cronin, Jr.).