DOE IG FINDS NO PROBLEMS WITH LIVERMORE STRATEGY TO MAINTAIN GUARD FORCE

Retention bonuses paid to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory guards to keep them at the site as it downsized its security posture were reasonable, the Department of Energy’s Inspector General said in a report released yesterday. The IG said it investigated claims that the lab experienced “excessive” security costs while it maintained security to protect Category I/II special nuclear material, but it found no problem with $15.2 million in retention bonuses distributed from Fiscal Year 2010 to FY 2012 that helped the site maintain its guard force. The NNSA said Friday that it had completely removed special nuclear material requiring the highest, and most expensive, levels of protection, and that it expects to save $30 million a year by reducing security at the lab. In its report, the IG said that guards earned $50,000 bonuses if they stayed at the lab through Sept. 30, 2012. “According to a Livermore official, the retention bonuses helped to maintain the number of security personnel at the levels required for Security Category I/II protection throughout the deinventory, as well as maintain the morale amongst the impacted security personnel,” the IG said. The NNSA also authorized a 12-month transition phase through Sept. 30, 2013, to help guards move to other jobs after the deinventorying effort was complete. The lab will lay off guards over the next few months as part of a workforce restructuring plan.