How We Can Help
The Jeffrey Law Group, PLLC, provides counseling and assistance to federal contractors and/or their employees through all stages and aspects of the National Industrial Security Program (NISP). Our National Industrial Security Program (NISP) attorneys provide:
- Industrial Security Program Training;
- Consultation and assistance throughout the facility security clearance (FCL) process, including, but not limited to, preparation of the Department of Defense Security Agreement (DD Form 441);
- Vetting of federal contractors’ potential applicants for eligibility to classified information, i.e., an industrial security clearance;
- Initial Consultation and assistance in preparing an applicant’s Questionnaire for National Security Positions (Standard Form 86) and/or Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP);
- Consultation and assistance in responding to investigative interrogatories;
- Advice and preparation for an applicant’s investigative interviews;
- Responses to Statement of Reasons (SOR)/Letter of Intent to Revoke or Deny a Security Clearance;
- Representation of applicants at hearings before administrative judges of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA); and
- Appeals of adverse decisions of administrative judges.
Contact the Jeffrey Law Group, PLLC, The Federal Employee’s Law Firm®, today at 202.312.7100 for an initial consultation regarding your National Industrial Security Program (NISP) needs. For additional reading material, please see our blog posts regarding Security Clearance matters.
National Industrial Security Program (NISP)
Created by Executive Order 12829, the National Industrial Security Program (NISP) ensures that cleared U.S. defense industry safeguards the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts.1 The Defense Security Service (DSS) administers the NISP on behalf of the Department of Defense (DOD) and 23 other federal agencies within the Executive Branch.2 To have access to U.S. classified information and participate in the NISP, a facility must have a bona fide procurement requirement. Once this requirement has been established, a facility is eligible for a Facility Security Clearance (FCL).
Facility Security Clearance (FCL)
DSS makes the administrative determination as to whether a facility is eligible to access classified information at the same or lower classification category as the clearance being granted. The Facility Security Clearance (FCL) may be granted at the Top Secret, Secret or Confidential level. In order to obtain the clearance, the contractor must execute a Defense Security Agreement, which is a legally binding contract that sets forth the responsibilities of both parties and obligates the contractor to abide by the security requirements of the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual.3 Once a facility is cleared, DSS has oversight authority to evaluate the security operations of the organization.
Adjudications, Due Process Hearings, and Appeals of Security Clearance Cases
Executive Order 10865 governs the adjudications, due process hearings, and appeals of security clearance cases for private sector employees. Created as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Greene v. McElroy, 360 US 474 (1959), Executive Order 10865 lays out the minimum due process requirements in cases where the federal government has reached the preliminary decision that it is not clearly consistent with the national interest to grant or continue a security clearance for access to classified information to a person who holds or requires a security clearance needed in connection with his or her employment. Contractor employees applying for security clearances have been receiving essentially the same administrative due process since 1960, pursuant to DoD Directive 5220.6, which implements Executive Order 10865.
Contact the Jeffrey Law Group, PLLC, The Federal Employee’s Law Firm®, today at 202.312.7100 for an initial consultation regarding your National Industrial Security Program (NISP) needs. For more information, please see our blog posts regarding Security Clearance matters.