OPM role in suitability adjudications?

• A. Has overall responsibility for suitability; Oversees agency adjudications
• B. Adjudicates cases involving material, intentional false statement, deception, or fraud in examination or appointment or evidence of a refusal to furnish testimony
• C. Conducts local investigations at field level
• D. Sets DoD pay scales

Answer: (A)

OPM has overall responsibility for suitability and oversees agency adjudications. In federal hiring, OPM sets the standards and policies for what makes someone suitable, issues the guidelines used by agencies, and ensures consistency across all agencies as they conduct their own investigations and make suitability determinations under those guidelines. Local field investigations are carried out by the employing agency’s security offices, not by OPM. DoD pay scales are determined by DoD, separate from OPM’s suitability framework. So the best description is that OPM provides the overarching governance for suitability and supervises how agencies adjudicate cases.