No, Your Security Clearance Wasn’t “Terminated”

A recent news story reported that the General Services Administration (GSA) had “terminated” hundreds of employee security clearances. But that terminology can be misleading, as it suggests an adverse action was taken against those employees.

In reality, security clearances aren’t “terminated.” When it comes to an individual’s clearance, there are three primary types of actions that can occur:

• Administrative withdrawal; this happens when someone either leaves the position and no longer needs access to classified information or if their position is downgraded to no longer requiring access to classified information.
• Revocation; when the clearance holder no longer meets the requirements set forth in the national security adjudicative guidelines and has their eligibility for access to classified information is revoked.
• Suspension; this is a temporary action where information of a security concern has come to light and must be resolved prior to review and re-adjudication.

The GSA news story framed the action as though employees had their security clearances terminated due to an adverse action, but that was not the case.

The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is responsible for ensuring that access to classified information is limited to individuals who have a legitimate need for that access to perform their official duties. GSA’s action was an administrative step to ensure the agency remained aligned with that guidance.

An administrative withdrawal of a security clearance is not an adverse action and does not prevent an employee from having their eligibility reinstated if a future position requires access to classified information.