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Citing IG Report, Roskam Demands Answers from IRS about Its Hiring Practices

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Washington, February 6, 2015 | comments
WASHINGTON — Today, Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam (R-IL) sent a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen demanding answers as to why the IRS rehired hundreds of former employees who were previously terminated for performance or conduct issues, including the mishandling of taxpayer information. This discovery came as a result of a recent audit report released by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) on December 30, 2014.

The report revealed that TIGTA examined the records of over 300 former IRS employees with previous performance issues at the IRS that were rehired by the agency. Of these employees, nearly 20 percent had new conduct or performance issues after being rehired, including attempted unauthorized access to sensitive taxpayer information. Further, the chief of the IRS’s Processing Division went so far as to write “do not rehire” in the file of a former employee who had been absent without leave from the IRS for a total of 312 hours. Despite the chief’s warning, the individual was rehired.  
In his letter, Chairman Roskam wrote:

“As Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, I believe the American people are entitled to demand excellence from federal employees, and it is my responsibility to ensure the IRS is using best practices to hire and retain excellent employees. . . .

“One of the IRS’s most significant responsibilities is the safeguarding of confidential taxpayer information. Agency employees are entrusted with taxpayers’ personal data, like Social Security Numbers and earnings, and, in the case of organizations, donor information. While the law forbids unauthorized disclosure of such information, the risk to taxpayers is not merely theoretical—it has been demonstrated in recent years as some organizations like the National Organization for Marriage have seen their confidential tax information leaked to the press. Despite this real risk, TIGTA noted in its report that the Agency rehired eleven individuals who had previously engaged in unauthorized use of taxpayer accounts.”

Despite TIGTA’s recommendation that the IRS work with its legal counsel to determine whether and when prior conduct and performance issues could be considered, the IRS’s apparent conclusion was that it “was not feasible” to do so earlier in the hiring process.
This is not the first time the IRS has failed to consider prior performance issues. In September 10, 2014, the Committee wrote to ask about the case of an employee who falsely claimed to have worked an entire year, but was not formally disciplined. 

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