Most of the back-office IRS employees who were involuntarily moved to cover frontline filing-season work will remain on their temporary reassignments.
The IRS in early February put about 1,500 IT and human resources employees on 120-day details to work in taxpayer services. Most of the IRS employees who moved to taxpayer services have no background in this work and have gone through months of training. The agency lost 27% of its employees last year and fell short of hiring goals for the filing season.
In a call Friday morning, Joseph Ziegler, the IRS chief of internal consulting, said most of the employees currently on taxpayer services details that were set to expire in June will have their details extended for another 120 days.
Federal News Network spoke to two employees who were on the call and obtained a transcript of the meeting.
“There might be people who aren’t extended and are sent to another initiative or another area in the IRS that we need resources in. But the majority of you will be extended in this detail,” Ziegler said.
Ziegler said it’s possible IRS employees may see their details extended for a third time, depending on how quickly they clear a backlog of amended tax returns.
“At another 120 days, we’re going to assess how much work was done. How much of the backlog have we brought down? And then we’ll make another assessment on whether we’re going to extend the detail again,” he said. Many IRS employees on this detail have completed their monthslong training, but several classes remain in training.
Deidre Moran, an operations manager with IRS taxpayer services, said that about 65% of employees graduated from training after passing an exam. Employees who didn’t pass the initial exam will be given more on-the-job training and will be given a second assessment. Moran said a “good majority” are expected to pass the second round.
Moran said the IRS has a “huge backlog” in amended tax returns that need to be processed.
“By having you come in and work the 1040-Xs, it’s freeing up our seasoned employees to work some of our harder inventory,” Moran said. “We really do appreciate your coming over and giving us this assistance.”
Ziegler told employees they’re welcome to apply to other IRS jobs if they are unsatisfied with their current assignments, but said they cannot go back to their previous roles in the agency’s IT and HR shops.
“You guys are on a detail right now. Going back to that position is not available right now to you,” he said. “If you’re not happy with the position that you’re doing, there’s other opportunities out there that might more align with what you’re looking to do in your career.”
Employees were initially told that their involuntary details would last through late June, but could be extended for a longer period.
“We saw a need in the IRS, and the need was within taxpayer services. It was to make a better tax filing season,” Ziegler told employees. “We redeployed our employees to efforts to combat that concern.”
While on this temporary reassignment to taxpayer services, employees have supported the work of customer service representatives who handle inquiries from taxpayers and tax examiners who review the accuracy of incoming tax returns. The agency, however, said no employees on these details would engage directly with taxpayers or answer phone calls.
Chief Human Capital Officer Alex Kweskin acknowledged that some employees on temporary details are unhappy with their current arrangements and encouraged them to apply for other roles within the agency. IRS employees have been told throughout their training that they are encouraged to apply for full-time positions that better align with their career paths, and that more positions would soon be available on USAJobs.
“For some, the detail may be very difficult. There may be something else that you want to do, and we don’t want to handicap you in any sort of way to hold you into the detail,” Kweskin said. “If you find an opportunity that better suits your talents and skill set, if this is not the right path for you and you want to pursue something else, we’re providing an opportunity for you to do so through our openings that are available.”
In March, IRS Chief Information Officer Kaschit Pandya told staff that his office is planning to hire up to 175 IT employees, after permanently moving about 1,200 IT employees out of the tech shop.
Many, but not all, of these employees were put on 120-day taxpayer services details. But none of the impacted employees who spoke to Federal News Network have been given any details about what work they’ll be doing for the agency in the long term.
IRS IT employees detailed to taxpayer services said they are now in training to do the work of a GS-5 customer service representative, a significantly lower grade than the work they were previously doing.
Another individual familiar with the IRS staffing shakeup said employees on 120-day details are currently enrolled in eight hours of daily training for the next few months. These employees, the individual said, must remain on camera for the duration of these virtual training sessions, and if they turn off their cameras, they’ll get a message to turn them back on.
IRS officials said these reassignments are part of a “One IRS” vision set by Frank Bisignano, the agency’s chief executive officer.
Bisignano, who also serves as the head of the Social Security Administration, has also reassigned many SSA employees from field offices to answer calls on its 1-800 number. Bisignano told staff in a Jan. 12 meeting that “we should be able to move any talent wherever is the best place,” as part of a “One SSA” strategy.
Bisignano told the Senate Finance Committee that this was “the most successful filing season in IRS history,” and that by modernizing legacy IT systems, the agency has been able to have “less people and better results.”
An IRS IT employee on a taxpayer services detail told Federal News Network that the agency’s plans to automate more of its work are “necessary” after deep staffing cuts, but warned that officials overseeing the IRS have oversold the efficiency of mass reassignments.
“It is pretty offensive to have them tell us how efficient things are when they are making the decision to waste so much money overpaying staff unqualified to do this work, rather than retaining the needed trained and experienced staff. Training us also requires taking people off the phones during tax season,” the employee said.
If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email jheckman@federalnewsnetwork.com, or reach out on Signal at jheckman.29
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