The IRS telework program generally follows requirements set in a 2010 law but a fifth of a sampling of employees who performed remote work over a one-year period did not have formal agreements as called for in that law, according to an IG report.
Of the 165 employees sampled only 130 had a valid telework agreement; of the rest, about half had an agreement but it did not include a managerial signature, while the others had no agreement. Nor had all completed the required training, it said.
In a broader look at 37,000 teleworking employees, the IG found 103 who had been disciplined for serious misconduct but only six of those were barred from further telework because of it.
“IRS officials explained that policies do not specify what constitutes misconduct that would impact the integrity of the IRS telework program and instead rely on managers to assess whether the misconduct was sufficient to warrant suspending telework activities,” the report said.
The agency said it has taken action to verify training is complete and that a valid agreement is on file for teleworking employees, and that it plans to provide detailed guidance for assessing misconduct that may warrant ineligibility to telework.
