Getting fired is stressful enough. For employees working in the cleared community, however, termination often creates another immediate concern: What happens to my security clearance?
Many clearance holders assume that losing their job automatically means losing their security clearance. Others assume that because they already have a clearance, they can simply take it with them to their next employer.
Neither of these assumptions gives you the whole story.
Being Fired Does Not Automatically Revoke Your Clearance
The first distinction is between employment and security clearance eligibility.
For government contractors, your employer can terminate your employment, but it does not have the authority to revoke your security clearance eligibility. Clearance determinations are made by the appropriate government adjudicative authority. Federal employees can have their clearance decisions and terminations made by the same federal agency (e.g. DOE), but they are usually in different branches of the agency.
When employment with a cleared contractor ends, the company must take certain security-related actions. For Department of War contractors, for example, the employer generally removes the individual’s access, records the separation, out-processes the individual’s eligibility record from the company’s Security Management Office in DISS, and provides the employee with a security debriefing.
In other words, losing access to classified information because your job ended is not necessarily the same thing as having your security clearance revoked.
Why Were You Fired?
This is probably the most important question. Suppose an employee is terminated because a government contract ends, the company downsizes, or the employee’s position is eliminated. These are generally not issues.
Those circumstances ordinarily present a very different security clearance situation from an employee terminated for:
- Theft or fraud.
- Falsification of records.
- Workplace violence.
- Drug or alcohol problems.
- Misuse of government information systems.
- Mishandling classified information.
- Repeated security violations.
- Serious workplace misconduct.
- Dishonesty during an internal investigation.
The fact that someone was fired is not necessarily a security issue. The conduct that caused the termination may be.
Your Employer May Have to Report the Conduct
Clearance holders sometimes believe that resigning before being fired, or simply leaving the company, will prevent negative clearance information from reaching the government. This is often not the case.
Cleared contractors have obligations to report adverse information concerning cleared personnel. For example, DCSA guidance specifically notes that an anticipated departure or termination does not change a contractor’s responsibility to report adverse information that comes to its attention during the individual’s employment.
For example, suppose a contractor discovers that an employee has repeatedly falsified time records. The company investigates and terminates the employee.Even though the employee no longer works there, the underlying alleged dishonesty may raise security concerns and may have already been reported to the government. However, the employer doesn’t always report it.
As a result, leaving the company does not necessarily make the underlying issue disappear.
What Happens When an Incident Report Is Filed?
If the circumstances surrounding the termination raise potential security concerns, an FSO or other security official may submit an incident report through the applicable personnel security system.
An incident report does not automatically mean your clearance will be revoked. The government may review the information and determine that no additional action is necessary. Alternatively, an adjudicator may request additional information, seek an updated SF-86, order additional investigative work, or initiate proceedings affecting the individual’s eligibility.
This is where a relatively ordinary employment termination can become a security clearance matter.
The Loss of Jurisdiction Problem
A particularly frustrating problem can arise when an employee leaves a cleared position while an investigation or adjudicative matter is still pending.
In the Department of War system, Loss of Jurisdiction (LOJ) can occur when an individual no longer has the necessary affiliation before DCSA is able to make a favorable eligibility determination.
An LOJ is not the same as a formal denial or revocation. However, it can create significant practical problems because the government may no longer continue adjudicating the matter once the individual’s sponsorship or affiliation ends.
The problem may not become apparent until the individual accepts another cleared position. At that point, the new employer’s FSO or security manager may have to establish a new relationship in DISS and request that adjudication resume. Until an eligibility determination supporting access is entered, the employee may be unable to access classified information.
For someone whose new job depends on immediate classified access, that delay can become a serious employment problem and also cause difficulties in getting immediately hired.
Can You Take Your Clearance to Another Employer?
People often say that they are going to “transfer” their clearance to a new employer. In practice, the new employer must have a legitimate need for the individual to access classified information and establish the appropriate security relationship. Existing eligibility may often be recognized, subject to reciprocity rules and the requirements of the gaining agency.
If your record is clean and your eligibility remains current, moving between cleared employers can be relatively routine. If an unresolved incident, pending adjudication, LOJ, or other eligibility issue exists, however, the process can become substantially more complicated.
What About Federal Employees?
Federal employees face an additional distinction because termination from federal employment can involve both employment suitability or fitness issues and national security eligibility issues.
Those determinations are related but not necessarily identical. A federal agency might remove an employee from a particular position without necessarily determining that the individual is ineligible to hold a security clearance. Conversely, conduct discovered during an employment investigation may also trigger a separate security review.
Federal employees should therefore carefully determine whether an adverse action affects only their employment, their security clearance eligibility, or both.
What Should You Do After Being Fired?
If you held a security clearance and were terminated, it is important to understand exactly what happened rather than assume that your clearance disappeared with your job.
Depending on the circumstances, you may want to determine:
- Whether the termination involved alleged security-related misconduct.
- Whether your FSO or security office submitted an incident report or adverse information.
- Whether an adjudication remains pending.
- Whether your eligibility currently reflects an LOJ or another status that could delay future access.
- Whether you have received, or should expect, a formal notice concerning your clearance eligibility.
For DoW contractors, the company FSO is generally the appropriate point of contact for questions about clearance and adjudication status. Federal employees should generally contact their agency security office.If the termination involves serious allegations that could affect future clearance eligibility, obtaining legal advice early can also be important.
Final Thoughts
Being fired does not automatically mean that you have lost your security clearance. What matters is why the employment ended and whether the circumstances surrounding the termination raise separate concerns about your continued eligibility for access to classified information.
For clearance holders, the important question after a termination is therefore not simply “Do I still have my clearance?” It is: “What does my security record currently show, and is there anything unresolved that could affect my next cleared position?”
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Security clearance rules, federal employment procedures, agency policies, and government guidance may change, and readers should consult counsel regarding their specific circumstances.
