Reimbursement of Selective Service Employee for Payment of Fine

The Selective Service System (SSS) requested a decision on whether it could reimburse an employee for a motor vehicle fine he paid as a result of SSS failure to obtain a safety inspection on a leased vehicle. doubling. GAO held that: (1) the U.S. government was immune from state fines directly levied against it and employees were personally responsible for fines they incurred while on duty; (2) the fine arose out of an administrative failure to have the car inspected and the claimant was not personally responsible for that failure; (3) the rental agreement required SSS to have the car inspected and to pay any penalties stemming from the vehicle's illegal use; and (4) SSS could reimburse the claimant for the fine if SSS determined that the lessor, as the vehicle's owner, was liable for the fine under District of Columbia law.