The IRS consistently follows established policy and procedures such as mandatory annual screenings to ensure that its special agents meet the medical requirements for the position, an IG report has found.
Like many front-line federal law enforcement jobs, those positions require employees to maintain certain fitness and health standards to ensure that they can safely perform law enforcement duties without injury to themselves or others. For IRS special agents that includes a health history questionnaire, a physical examination, vision, hearing and other tests and a physical fitness assessment.
The IRS office of criminal investigation has established written policy and procedures that document the medical requirements, it said, but “while the IRS and contracted medical professionals appropriately administered procedural guidance, we found that the guidelines documented in IRS special agent medical requirements policy and the related sections of the Internal Revenue Manual were not up to date.”
IRS management agreed with recommendations to update the policies and manual to reflect changes in the policy and procedures that have already been implemented.
