PSH-21-0083 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

Access Authorization Granted; Guideline I (Psychological Conditions)

On November 12, 2021, an Administrative Judge (AJ) determined that an Individual should be granted access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710. The Individual is a prospective employee of a DOE contractor for a position that requires the possession of a security clearance. As part of the application for access authorization, the Individual completed a Questionnaire for National Security Positions form. Therein, the Individual indicated that she had a mental health condition that substantially adversely affected her judgment, reliability, or trustworthiness. The Individual was evaluated by a DOE-consultant psychologist (“Psychologist”). Subsequently, the LSO informed the Individual that it possessed reliable information that created substantial doubt regarding her eligibility to possess a security clearance because the Psychologist concluded that the Individual has a mental condition resulting from seizures that affects her judgment and emotional stability, and, during seizures, she loses control over what she says for several hours.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the AJ determined that the DOE appropriately invoked Guideline I and that the Individual resolved the security concerns for the following reasons. First, the AJ found that the evidence demonstrated that her condition is readily controllable with treatment and she had been consistently compliant with her treatment plan because the Individual had not had a seizure in more than three years, the severity of the seizures had decreased, she had used prescription medication and emergency hospitalization to successfully prevent or mitigate seizures, and the Psychologist opined there was a low probably of the Individual’s judgement being impaired by her condition.

Second, the AJ found persuasive the Psychologist’s opinion that it is unlikely that the Individual will have significant seizures in the future and that her seizures have a low risk of impairing her judgment. Accordingly, the AJ found that the Psychologist’s conclusion, coupled with the above findings, demonstrated that the Individual’s condition is readily controllable with treatment and has a low probably of recurrence or exacerbation. The AJ therefore found that the Individual had resolved the Guideline I security concerns.(Case No. PSH-21-0083, James P. Thompson III)