MIDDLE ATLANTIC – A fairly recently hired Federal Government civilian employee was issued a Notice of Intent to Suspend Access to classified material pending adjudication of security clearance issues. Because all civilian positions in the activity required possession of a valid clearance, employee was placed on administrative leave with pay for 30 days, to be followed by an indefinite period of administrative leave without pay pending final adjudication of the clearance issues. Security clearance issues were related to allegations under Adjudicative Guidelines: M – Use of Information Technology System due to misuse of a government computer and government laptop computer to visit inappropriate adult themed websites while on active duty – that resulted in the officer’s decision to retire from active duty, and a requirement to go through a retirement grade determination; as well as allegations from the immediate past former employer regarding misuse of company e-mail and violations of company e-mail policies. Quickly preparing response to the Notice of Intent to Suspend Indefinitely, through written submissions and two personal presentations to the command, we were able to: first, get the command to extend the period of administrative leave with pay; and, more importantly, obtain through our written submissions and presentation to the command, command support to the Central Adjudication Facility (CAF) on behalf of the client, resulting in a favorable adjudication of the issues at the CAF without the necessity of client being placed on administrative leave without pay, issuance of a formal Letter of Intent (LOI) to revoke the clearance, or having to appear at a Personal Appearance before an Administrative Judge for an appeal to the Personnel Security Appeals Board (PSAB) of the CAF. Result – client retained a pay status throughout the proceedings and clearance was retained, with cautions.
Menu
