Federal contractors told it's okay for workers to sign secession petitions Posted at 05:34 PM ET, 11/28/2012 Displeased with the outcome of the presidential election? Go ahead and sign that petition to secede from the Union! At least it won't affect your security clearance ... for now. The Defense Department's Defense Security Service - the folks in charge of background checks and industrial security and the like - has posted a notice informing its contractors that despite rumors to the contrary, it's perfectly okay for their employees to sign such petitions. "It appears erroneous statements have been made to the effect that DSS is directing contractors to treat the signing of such petitions as reportable adverse information," the statement reads. That's not so, the statement concludes. But before you commit your John Hancock, read the fine print: The DSS says the matter is "under review and DSS will provide information to contractors when that review is complete." Which seems to hint that the agency hasn't quite closed the books on this. Translation: Secede at your own peril.