by KarlMarx

SECURITY CLEARANCE INSTRUCTIONS FOR GENERAL SERVICES ADMINSTRATION CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS

After 9/11, security at federal properties became a dominant force in the access to federal properties and in the way citizens interact with their government. Many people such as temporary contract agency employees, construction contractors, service contract workers such as custodians and maintenance personnel were and are directly affected by this heightened process.

This article provides a quick overview of the formal processes used by most federal government agencies to obtain security clearances for the many and varied jobs within the government. The General Services Administration (GSA) will serve as the ‘typical’ agency because GSA encompasses nearly all variations on the theme of security clearance, using such as they do, contract GSA employees both full time and part time; construction contractors; service contractors; information technology contractors; security contractors; and, many other kinds of personnel found at most agencies with the typical kinds of clearance. You could just as easily insert the VA or the BOP and this article would equally apply.

If you prefer an abbreviated review of security clearance procedures used for mainly construction contracts and federal construction contractors, go to www.gsa-insider.com. for a free download on the topic.

Secret, Top Secret and higher clearance levels will not be discussed here, as those clearances are reserved for unique situations usually related to high levels of national security.

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the federal government began reorganizing and restructuring processes and procedures relating to the kinds of security clearances required by the feds. For purposes of this discussion, we’ll talk about clearances at lowest technical level of “confidential”, defined as:

Material, which, if improperly disclosed, could be reasonably expected to cause some measurable damage to the national security. The vast majority of civilian contractor personnel are given this very basic level of clearance.

For the typical federal applicant, either as a contract agency employee or contractor/subcontractor employee, the Department of Homeland Security Federal Protective Service, is the administrator of the security clearance process. DHS/FPS as it is known, issues the SF-85P, Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions form, and administers the Electronic Questionnaire for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) clearance system. The DHS/FPS office of Contract Suitability Adjudication (CSA) Section conducts the background investigation and issues the determination for suitability clearance.

There are five suitability determinations:

1. Full Time – Greater than six (6) months or longer and/or routine access – HSPD-12 compliant NACI/NACLC suitability determination.

2. Temporary – six (6) months or less and/or routine access – NAC suitability determination.

3. Construction – After substantial completion (same as Full time or Temporary, above).

4. Lessor – Level 4 and fully occupied Level 3 facilities (same as Full Time or Temporary).

5. Child Care – NAC suitability determination (in accordance with Crime Control Act).

Let’s take # 1, Full Time: There are three acronyms here that need explained. The NACI stands for the National Agency Check with Inquiries; combined with the NACLC, the National Agency Check with Local Agency, this NACI/NACLC grouping means that once the background questionnaire form SF 85P is submitted by an individual, the DHS/FPS will contact the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction in the area in which you live, to see if you have been in trouble with the local law.

As noted on the SF 85P, the feds don’t care about traffic offenses that resulted in fines of 0 or less. And while it does not specifically say so on this on the form, the feds don’t particularly care about minor misdemeanors, in general. The best policy is to answer all questions on the SF 85P accurately and truthfully.

But face the facts, folks: The Feds are serious, these days. There is a lot of pressure to get it right with a minimum of cost; or at least that’s one of the goals. If your company employs ex-cons or people with law enforcement records, they need to have good paper; meaning the employee should have a paper trail listing their record and the adjudication of the result. In this country, once you have paid for your mistakes, you get a pass and are able to try again. 

If you have just been awarded a federal contract and are applying for a security clearance for the First Time and, your company is applying for say a construction project and you have employees who are currently charged with serious misdemeanors or felonies, or who have been recently convicted of felonies. These people may or may not be cleared to work on federal property. Employees who have drug abuse problems (as in recent arrests for drug possession, dealing, etc) probably won’t be cleared, either. So don’t bother. Your employee will (possibly) not be cleared, your company has lost a lot of time and every one is embarrassed.

These suitability determinations are performed on and affect every person that applies for access to federal properties. As a companion to these determinations, GSA has developed access clearances to kinds and types of specific activity, such as for private sector contractor personnel (construction, service contracts, etc) and for agency employment (contract employees).

Factors considered for both types of personnel are the Position Risk Levels:

Low Risk: Those non-sensitive positions include those positions with potential for impact on duties of limited relations to the agency mission.
Moderate Risk: Those sensitive positions that have the potential for moderate to serious impact on duties very important to the agency mission with significant program responsibilities and delivery of customer services to the public.
High Risk: Those sensitive positions that have the potential for exceptionally serious impact on duties especially critical to the agency mission with broad scope of policy or program authority.

Specific to suitability determination number 3 above, are rules for contractor personnel that must have access to federal property for construction purposes. These are:

Escorted – Temporary Contractors who perform work for no more than 10 business days or require only intermittent (irregular) access are not required to undergo a background investigation provided the contractors are accompanied or “escorted” in accordance with national GSA policy. A contractor that has submitted a complete application with fingerprints and is awaiting a favorable determination may be escorted. Escorts are defined as government employees and Long Term Contract Employees who have received a temporary favorable and possess valid identification credentials.
Short Term – Temporary Contractors who perform work on a daily or routine basis (regularly scheduled) for a period of more than 10 business days but no more than 180 calendar days (6 months) will undergo a law enforcement check and an original SF-85P and two (2) sets of fingerprints on Form FD-258 accompanied by a completed FPS Contractor Suitability Adjudication Worksheet. The SF-85P cannot be completed utilizing the e-QIP process. e-Qip is reserved for long term contract employee use only.
Long Term – HSPD-12 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) implementing instructions requires all contract employees requiring routine access to federally controlled facilities for greater than six (6) months to receive a background investigation. An SF-85P and two (2) sets of fingerprints on Form 258 are required. If the position sensitivity is determined to be moderate or high risk, a complete GSA for 3665 must be part of the submitted background suitability package. e-QIP is the preferred method of completing the SF 85P requirement and the applicant should follow the instructions provided on the Applicant Information Sheet. All e-QIP Federal Protective Service (FPS) Contractor Suitability Adjudications Worksheets processed through the Service Center Security Clearance Office can be emailed to the regional GSA FPS office. Emailing CIW’s MUST be a WinZip file and encrypted attachment to the email since GSA is transmitting personal identity information (PII) outside of the GSA firewall.

You’ll note that under the ‘long term’ category there is notation of HSPD-12. This is the ‘badge’ every contract employee seeks to have if they desire to work long term on federal property. It’s a “smart” card that has encrypted information about you that, among other things includes the type of clearance issued to you. A good resource for learning more about the HSPD-12 card and GSA HSPD-12 application process can be found at:

http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_OVERVIEW&contentId=25746

Click on the “Get your Access Card” and read the FAQ’s about the process to learn more about applying for the magic piece of plastic that some studies say, can add ,000 – ,000 to your annual income simply by having federal clearance and working on federal projects.

Security clearances can seem to be a daunting prospect for the uninitiated, but it is not necessarily so. GSA and other agencies have personnel dedicated to assist you in the clearance process, help with ‘bumps in the road’ toward clearance and generally can guide you through the process. It’s another set of paperwork, albeit an important set of paperwork on the path toward federal employment or contractor employment.

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copywrited 12/15/09

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