[Edited] Background:
Was working in commercial industry (Company A). Received a ‘conditional offer’ from a DoD contractor (Company B) in Jan 2018 who summited for my clearance in Feb 2018 (on condition that i get my ‘secret’ clearance). Later in 2018, started working with another DoD contractor ‘Company C’ who did not need clearance to start with. They didnt have any program to tie ‘own my clearance in JPASS’. However with contingent offer from ‘Company B’ my investigation is still open. Fast forward July 2019 get a call from BI, we schedule interview day/time. Then today I get a call from BI, saying how come you never started with ‘Company B’ and ‘Company C’ doesnt still own your clearance. To which I mentioned that ‘Company B’ offered me conditional offer and it still exist based on my clearance approval. But he kept insisting that, whos gonna pay for your clearance and why has ‘Company C’ not picked up your clearance. BI even spoke to my Company C FSO and FSO requested him to continue with the investigation while they figure out the way to own the clearance and he agreed to hold onto my paperwork.
In reality my current ‘Company C’ doesnt have any contract to tie my clearance too.
I do have two other verbal/conditional offer by bigger defense contractor who were willing to bring me on board 2months ago and take ownership of the clearance. Not sure what to do to keep my investigation moving. Should I contact these companies or should I try to go back to ‘Company B’ who originally sponsored?
I have waited 1yr 5months to get to subject interview stage and dont want my clearance to stop.
@anon02, I wish there was a way NOT to like this. This all sounds like a ball of confusion. I hope it works out, especially since you waited 17 months JUST for a subject interview.
Is the offer from a company B still valid? If you get the clearance are you leaving company C to work for Company B? The investigation will continue if Company B’s offer stays valid. As a BI, I can request to have an investigation discontinued if a person is no longer interested in the job, left the job/military, etc…but half the time, even if the subject says they don’t need the clearance, NBIB will make us continue the investigation. It is pretty difficult to get a clearance discontinued. I honestly don’t know why your BI is so interested in who is paying for the BI. It really isn’t his business. I understand if he is trying to make sure the BI is still needed (you are still interested in Company B), but once you said yes, that should have been the end of it. I think s/he is overstepping a bit.
Just tell him that you don’t know if you are going to accept the CO when your clearance comes through but that Company C isn’t requiring you to get a clearance. You have every right to turn down the job when your clearance is approved or to take your clearance elsewhere unless you have signed some commitment with Company B.
Definitely overstepping and they should not have contacted Company C. I think that violates your right to privacy. He is contracted to carry out Company B’s request to sponsor you. I have a lot of interviewees who make clear they do not want current company contacted as they would fire them if they knew they were seeking employment elsewhere. That said, you may be able to work this to your advantage. Now you know Company C is aware you are in process. Talk to them and HR about cleared positions there. If they have the better offer they can sponsor or cross you over once cleared. Go back to Company B after the BI concludes you have eligibility (key point). See if you can talk up a better offer from them, and not say anything about Company C. I would go with what makes you the happiest and pays more.
@EdFarmerIII, I Tried explaining him, but he just kept on saying whos gonna pay and why has Company C not picked my clearance. He even spoke to Company C FSO and my FSO told him to keep continue with the investigation. At this point, i am not sure what to do other than call Company B’ FSO and tell them about the situation, because they never rescinded my offer.
@Investigator, thank you for your responses. Overstepping, may be the right way to describe this situation.
Last conversation I had with ‘Company B’ recruiter was like 10+months and I was told my start date will be based on the clearance. Its been 17months, but Company B has not rescinded the offer. This is also one of the Big 4 Aero Companies, so I am sure they can find another position for me if the one that was offered is filled.
I have tried explaining this to BI, but just doesnt seem to budge, he kept saying why didnt I work with Company B, I told him it is ‘Conditional/Contingent Offer’ based on getting clearance and then he went to say I am not sure whos paying for this. Its just doesnt make sense.
At this point, should I call Company B’s FSO and tell them about the situation? I have not spoke to them in like 6months.
You can, but the BI person…is independent of the FSO program at either level. I suspect it is a new BI guy…he suspects you are trying to “fraudulently” seek two clearances…simultaneously…someone needs explain to him you are not in a cleared position and you are not pursuing a cleared position with Company C. He doesn’t need to like/dislike agree/disagree with that reality.
@amberbunny, I just feel helpless trying to explain anything to this BI. In fact in JPASS, Company B still holds the clearance ticket. He should have continued with my investigation. It sounds like I should go back to ‘Company B’ and talk to them to somehow make sure the investigation goes through.
@amberbunny, you make valid point about how can use this to my advantage. The situation is the BI is not willing to hear out, even though i mentioned it was a ‘Conditional Offer’ and I am still interested to work for Company B, that should have been end of conversation. But he is just trying to control the investigation now it seems.
Are you recommending me to go back to Company B’s FSO and have them push through this? Although its been 17months, they never rescinded the offer. In a way this is positive for me, but then i was afraid to go back to them, in case they rescind the offer.
I would definitely reach out to the FSO and HR from Company B. Make clear what this BI guy is doing. Tell them you are very interested in the initial conditional offer or any other offer from them once the clearance comes through. But also make clear the BI Guy is asking questions putting you at risk in current job, which you only took to fill the gap waiting on this conditional offer. Someone has the HP to reel this guy in. It isn’t his business what you do for a living, he is there to simply scope it out and make note of anything out of the ordinary. I make very clear to our applicants how long this process takes and tell them to keep working or continue looking while this unfolds in the background. We understand many will find better employment waiting on the clearance for us. And even though we bore the cost of the investigation…we have to terminate it as they are no longer interested. THAT happens a lot.
@amberbunny, Thank you for great inputs! I will be reaching out to Company B’s FSO tomorrow and explain the situation and will update what happens. ‘Fingers-crossed’ everything go smoothly and my investigation continues.
Another question: In my case it doesnt matter now as my Company C knows about the company B offer. But in reality/more often do the BI’s conduct investigation onsite or offsite. Just curious they already know about my situation now.
The investigator should already know who paid for the investigation - this information is part of the NBIB case papers. I wonder if the question intent is being confused.
We need to back track a little about the Subject telling the BI not to interview an employer. Your desire to hide your background investigation from your current employer has no bearing on the field investigation requirements. The SF86 specifically states this warning. Company C records, supervisor, and coworkers will be interviewed if you are seeking a Tier 5 BI or if issues warrant the interviews. Be mindful that telling your BI that you have not told your current employer about your potential job… is on you - not the BI. The Subject can not control the investigation.
If you don’t want to meet at your work, so be it — just don’t expect the BI to meet you at odd hours at your convenience (some BIs actually have lives outside of work) - take a day off and get the Subject interview done. Be aware, the BI has to complete the fieldwork — whether you are ready or not.
If you believe the BI is behaving inappropriately, contact the investigation agency.
@backgdinvestigator, Thank you for responding. The question intent is just like it was posted. I have nothing to hide and neither did I try to control the investigation. The BI called to schedule the interview, it was scheduled (at my current work, Company C) and on the day of the interview I get a call again and asking the same question about when did I leave Company B. To which I responded saying Company B offered me a conditional offer and I need to go through my clearance to get the start date and right now my current employer is Company C (this is the one thing that has changed since I filled out my SF86 last). And now the BI started asking irrelevant questions, who is going to pay for your investigation? Why hasn’t Company C requested your clearance, I tried explaining him again that my offer still exists with Company B. And then I was asked contact info of my FSO from my ‘Company C’ and I provided that. The BI’s train of thought was stuck at why isnt Company C taken over my investigation, who’s paying for it?
I understand BI’s do their job really well and it isn’t an easy gig, and believe me, there has not being a single attempt on my side to control the investigation. My response/question above in regards to conduct an offsite interview was just a response towards @amberbunny’s comment that BI guy is putting me at risk in my current job… Thank you.
I don’t mean to imply the BI guy doesn’t have a valid angle. I can only respond to what and how you describe the situation. For instance, if you listed Company B on the job history because they made a conditional offer, the BI field work does require understanding of why you left Company B (if you listed it). I would not list a conditional offer if I was not filling a seat and collecting a paycheck. So if the paperwork implies you were with Company B…the BI person is trying to nail down dates of employment, supervisor,title, address, other periods of work and how they characterize your employment. It may be lost in translation that you are saying you have not yet worked for them, but they have you sponsored for the clearance. And, if they make a better offer…you take it. If not…you stay.
Valid point again @amberbunny, I can only hope at the end all these works out. It may just be the confusion versus what I see and what BI sees when reading my application. I will be calling Company B’s FSO and go from there.
This morning, I reached out to Company B’s FSO and explained the situation with BI. FSO at Company B was also not sure why was there a confusion as many applicants work other jobs while waiting on their clearance.
Long story short. - Company B’s FSO, got the BI’s info and contacted BI in regards to my clearance that they do need it for me to start my job with Company B. Got a call from BI, he apologized for the confusion and putting me a tricky situation with Company C. He re-scheduled my interview at their site which is a 5min from my work (BI chose the location and I agreed).
Positive end to the confusion. Hope things go well from here!
