Personnel Security Hearing (PSH)

PSH-18-0047
Personnel Security; Access Authorization Not Granted; Guideline F (Financial Considerations)

On September 24, 2018, an Administrative Judge determined that an Individual's access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710 should not be granted. In his application for access authorization, the Individual listed several past due or defaulted debts. Many had not received a payment in years. At his hearing, the Individual provided evidence that he had settled one debt and started a payment plan on another. However, the Individual stated that he intended to leave three other debts in default for at least the next few months, but possibly the next few years, so that he could avoid accruing a large tax debt from settlements.

The Administrative Judge found that the Individual did not mitigate the security concerns related to his financial issues because he had not resolved several of his debts and appeared unwilling to resolve them in the near future. Furthermore, the Individual was only a few months into his payment plan, which was simply not long enough to overcome a years long pattern of nonpayment. The Administrative Judge concluded that the evidence in this case established that the Individual's financial issues were still a concern. She therefore concluded that the Individual's access authorization should not be granted. OHA Case No. PSH-18-0047 (Katie Quintana).

PSH-18-0051

Personnel Security Decision; Access Authorization Not Restore; Guideline I (Psychological Conditions)

On September 25, 2018, an Administrative Judge decided not to restore access authorization to an Individual. The Individual is employed by a DOE contractor in a position that requires her to hold a security clearance. During the course of reinvestigation, investigators discovered that the Individual had been experiencing pseudo seizures related to a psychological condition for over one year. The Individual was referred to a DOE Psychologist for evaluation. The DOE Psychologist diagnosed the Individual with Bipolar II disorder. The Individual's security clearance was suspended.

At the hearing, the Individual's personal psychologist testified that the Individual should be compliant with a treatment plan including medication and therapy for at least six months in order to receive a good prognosis. The DOE Psychologist did not disagree, but testified that she would prefer a year of compliance. As of the hearing date, the Individual had been on medication for Bipolar II for about one month and had irregular therapy attendance in 2018. As such, neither psychologist could give a good prognosis for the Individual at the time of the hearing. Because the Individual was not regularly attending therapy, had not been on medication for Bipolar II for a significant period of time, and because neither psychologist could give the Individual a good prognosis, the Administrative Judge found that the Individual had not mitigated the security concerns under Guideline I and found that the Individual's access authorization should not be restored. OHA Case No. PSH-18-0051 (Richard A. Cronin, Jr.).