IRS Made Series of Mistakes in Firing Probationary Workers: Report

A report from the Treasury Department’s watchdog found that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) broke its own rules when it fired 7,315 probationary employees earlier this year by failing to consider performance records and failing to give them proper notice.

The report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found that virtually all of the fired probationary employees were either rated as high performers or had no performance ratings on record. 51 percent of those terminated had no performance record while the remaining 49 percent were rated. Of those who were rated, 90 percent were rated as “fully successful” while the remaining ten percent were rated as “exceeded fully successful” or “outstanding.” 

“As a result, we conclude that the IRS did not consider individual employee performance when terminating probationary employees,” stated the TIGTA report. 

The report also notes that prior to the firings, senior IRS officials refused to sign the notices and raised concerns about the lack of documented performance issues, but that the agency’s Human Capital Office sent the notices anyway. 

TIGTA notes that the “termination letters cited performance as a reason for termination.”

Other Firing Missteps 

Besides the performance reviews, the report said the IRS also made other missteps in the firing process such as failing to give employees 30-day notice. 

“Internal procedures were not followed when sending the termination notices. Policies and procedures require the IRS to give probationary employees a 30-day notice and consider their performance prior to terminating them,” stated TIGTA. 

The agency also did not properly identify all mission critical services and employees in the initial firing rounds, and then later had to attempt to rehire a “small number of employees who had incorrectly been identified for termination.”

Rehiring Employees

All this comes after the IRS reversed course and decided to let fired probationary employees come back to work. However, TIGTA says about 3,000, or less than half of those who were let go, ultimately came back to the agency. Another 3,500 opted for the deferred resignation program (DRP) and 750 simply resigned. 

Also on the subject of probationary employees, the Trump Administration asked a federal appeals court to toss rulings that found the termination of probationary employees unlawful. The administration says the existence of the rulings is impacting its ability to manage the civil service.