The IRS properly used a special pay-setting authority in setting salaries for certain in-demand positions above the upper limits of SES pay during 2010-2013, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
Employees hired under the “streamlined critical pay” were paid upwards of $227,300 at a time when the maximum SES rate was $179,700, the IG said; the authority was for positions deemed to require extremely high-level expertise in an administrative, technical, or professional field critical to the IRS’s success.
A total of 168 positions were filled through the authority under the now-expired program, more them half of them IT positions and the rest spread among other functions. About four tenths of the appointees later were retained after their initial temporary positions expired.
The review found that critical pay positions were adequately justified; the need to recruit or retain exceptionally well-qualified individuals was demonstrated; and that pay limitations were adhered to.
The report is here: http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/iereports/2015reports/2015ier001fr.pdf
