Failure to Register with Selective Services

Registering with the Selective Services System is the law and failure to do so can mean a wide range of consequences and can also threaten your federal employment. For employees who are required to register, but do not, a federal agency can remove said employee for Failure to Register with Selective Services System.

To prove a charge of Failure to Register with Selective Services System against an employee, a federal agency must show that: (1) the employee was appointed to a position in an executive agency; (2) he is male born after December 31, 1959 and thus required by law to register with Selective Services; and (3) he knowingly and willfully failed to register.

Though it would be a difficult task, a federal employee could challenge this charge by raising a constitutional challenge that the underlying law is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court of the United States has stated, however, that a federal employee brining such a challenge must still go the Merit Systems Protection Board (“MSPB”) so that it can collect evidence and find facts related to the constitutional question before going to federal court for review of the constitutional question.

The attorneys at Melville Johnson, P.C., exclusively represent federal employees, and are highly experienced in MSPB matters such as these, and are willing and able to assist you in your federal employment legal matters.