I hold a TS/SCI under DISS and I am a contractor at FBI. I had a CI Poly with them last time in 2015 as a contractor and passed the CI Poly with no issues.
I just had a new CI Poly and I was honest with the Poly Examiner and nothing has changed since my last CI. I was treated like a bad person and was given the opportunity to “confess” for which there was nothing to confess.
The Poly Examiner said that if I didn’t provide any info about what was bothering me that I am basically screwed.
He explicitly stated that I “failed” the test. I did some leg work and found out that this has happened to a few other contractors around me and they did not even bother to find out if the assertion made by the Poly Examiner was true they just quit before the results came back from HQ.
I kind of feel like I should do the same. I was also told that the Poly Examiner is not supposed to outright say that you failed but I have a hard time believing that as well.
What should I do here? I hear that I can just move on to another agency with my existing TS/SCI and no Poly.
Note that it is standard operating procedure for polygraph operators to inform subjects of the outcome (and to conduct a post-test interrogation) if the charts are scored as “significant response” (i.e., “failing”).
When the polygrapher told you that if you didn’t provide any information about what was bothering you, you would be “basically screwed,” that was a lie intended to extract an incriminatory admission from you.
If you did not make any disqualifying admission, you may be able to request a re-test.
Of course, seeking another position that doesn’t require you to submit to this pseudoscientific divination ritual is also a good option.
I’ve heard on forums like this one that, for new direct-hire applicants, FBI has a “one and done” polygraph policy… no second chances. But I have not heard if that applies to people getting a periodic re-poly… or to contractors. Note this is based on second (and third) hand info, I’ve never been an FBI employee or contractor, just DoD and IC stuff for me.
I have heard of IC people who were accused of being drug-dealing terrorist child molesters on an initial poly but later passed with no problems… but this was for agencies without the (alleged) one-and-done policy
Ended up “failing” per FBI front desk security. Am I supposed to get a letter in the mail about this? I don’t believe the word “failed” is even synonymous with the correct verbiage either it is supposed to be “significant response”. Not that it may matter.
Here is the thread I mentioned above where this happened to another contractor. Not sure what ultimately happened in their situation:
I left the contract after being verbally told that I failed… I was told by the FBI Security Office that I could retake only if the Unit Chief and AD would sign off on it. After asking the my onsite POC at the contracting company I was told that the UC would not do so for someone so new to the contract.
My FSO is now ghosting me and the Security Office who read me out at the customer site refused to provide me with a business card which is not commensurate with previous times working on contracts at FBI. Last times I left to pursue other opportunities the SO at that location gave me a business card if I had any questions at all without my even asking. As a matter of fact, I even worked on that same contract before.