PSH-22-0072 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On July 21, 2022, an Administrative Jude determined that the Individual's access authorization should not be granted under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. The Individual is employed by a DOE contractor in a position that requires him to hold a security clearance. the Local Security Office (LSO) received potentially derogatory information regarding the Individual's finances. The LSO alleged that: 1) the Individual failed to file his federal income tax returns for tax years 2015, 2016, and 2017; 2) the Individual failed to file his state income tax returns for tax years 2015, 2016, and 2017; and 3) the Individual has four outstanding debts totaling over $5,000.

At the hearing, the Individual, his wife and his former coworker testified. The evidence in the record established that the Individual failed to file his 2015, 2016, and 2017 federal and state income taxes because he had not received tax documents from a former employer for whom he worked in 2015, 2016, and 2017. The testimony provided by the Individual's former coworker corroborated the Individual's assertion that they did not receive tax forms from their former employer. The Individual filed his 2015, 2016, and 2017 federal income taxes in March 2022 after obtaining a wage and income transcript from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He was also able to file his 2015 and 2016 state income taxes in the same manner. However, the evidence indicated that he was not under an obligation to file his state income taxes for tax year 2017. As of the date of the hearing, the Individual owed approximately thousands in underpayments to the relevant tax authorities. He had not yet established a payment plan or otherwise satisfied those underpayments.

As the date of the hearing, of the four outstanding debts, the Individual had completely satisfied one debt in full. The Individual established payment plans for the remainder of the debts in January 2022. The evidence in the record indicated that the Individual was in compliance with the payment plans at the time of the hearing.

The Individual waited years to resolve the matter of his 2015, 2016, and 2017 taxes. Although he was not given tax documents from his former employer, he was still under an obligation to file his federal and state income taxes, and he ultimately found a way to file his taxes without receiving any paperwork from his former employer. Additionally, the Individual had not established a payment plan to satisfy the underpayments for the tax years in question. Accordingly, the Individual has not demonstrated compliance with any payment arrangements. Further, the Individual's plans to satisfy the underpayments remained vague. Accordingly, although the Individual has mitigated the Guideline F concerns pertaining to his outstanding debts pursuant to ¶ 20(d), it could not be concluded that that the Individual mitigated the Guideline F concerns pertaining to his 2015, 2016, and 2017 federal income tax returns and his 2015 and 2016 state tax returns pursuant to ¶ 20(g). Based on the evidence, the Administrative Judge concluded that the Individual had not mitigated all Guideline F concerns. (OHA Case No. PSH-22-0072, Rahimzadeh)