Internal Revenue Service

I don't know why you seem to feel the need to stir this pot. Do you honestly believe that the only thing the IRS is looking for is a warm vaxxed body? Believe it or not, it actually wants people who can do the job. The IRS, as well as most federal agencies, has been losing people to attrition consistently since he 1980s and now we are at a point that the system is barely hanging on to its capacity to function at the level it is expected. There is a reason Exams and Collections are way down. There is a reason that we send interim notice after interim notice to people and 30 day time frames have been extend until 257 days for an Identity Theft Claim up until no time frame at all... sorry. And you seem to have some perverse desire to ride some sort of employment wave that is based on more people leaving sooner than not and making those remaining having to work with less support and under worse conditions. Do you think you can just replace a person who has 10/20/30 years of experience with ZERO, good intentions, a vaccination, and actually still get the job done? If you truly believe that I question if you even know what it means to work for this agency. You are aware that as long as we are on a Continuing Resolution (ie- no budget is passed) federal hiring is generally stopped... vaccine or not?

What has stopped you from getting in up until this point with the IRS up until that point if it is that important to you... there has been quite a bit of hiring these past few years compared to previously when we have had a budget. I promise you this right now... A) I don't know what the future has in store but it will not turn out how anyone thinks it will and B) morale for the folks remaining is going to be even deeper in the gutter... even if people do not end up getting terminated over their vaccination status.

COVID has killed us. I was three weeks shy of my first year before we were sent home. We still have not done our last unit of training. We need OJIs and SMEs. I have taxpayer accounts in my inventory since end of 2019 because I can't do anything with it until something gets processed or adjusted. Returns I've submitted last year that either don't show up on the account, or have been sitting in submission processing since early last year. Correspondence hasn't been worked in forever. Cases in Appeals that have been open for more than 45 days. Still processing 2019 stuff and now 2020, spending bills, CRs, it's beyond crazy. But I go to work every day because somehow, what I am able to do might make a difference for one of my taxpayers. The ones who actively work to resolve issues are a blessing to work with. Those are the ones I get out of bed for every day. I have the others because they are part of my inventory, but the ones who try are what keeps me going some days. At the end of the day, all we can do is try and do our best. And when our best isn't good enough anymore, the job will kill you if you let it. I'm not looking to start a new career. I'm too old. I've been planning for retirement, but still need another 8 years.

I don't mean to complain. OP needs to understand what it takes to work for this agency. I'm proud of what I do. I wish that the politics that cloud our agency didn't exist. We are vilified and people have no idea what it's like to not have the support internally or externally. Ashulein, thank you random internet stranger for understanding.

Wow. You really are cutthroat. You are not going to make many friends in your imaginary new job. And with that, I'm out.

You're welcome. I wish there was something that I could say that could ease your mind but unfortunately it is impossible to soothsay the times we are currently in. All I know is that one day all this too shall pass. Until then I can only take one day at a time; cross only bridges that I come to one at a time; and be as flexible as I can be.

Nobody knows how all this is going to work out and as "hopeful" as the OP is they clearly know even less than most... so I really wouldn't put much stock in a vulture like that. I am sure there is a really good reason they were posting on this site five years ago, disappeared until a month ago, and are now stirring things up here. They clearly don't already work for any federal agency (probably for good reason) and have no idea what they are talking about. I would not have even said anything if it wasn't bothering anyone else and now I am forever done with them.

Again, I can not say that I know what the future has in store but I can assure you that nothing will be as clean as suddenly 11/22/21 hits and suddenly thousands of Federal Employees are let go followed by a equal number of open vacancies ready to be filled on 11/23/21. That is just not how the system works (even if many folks would like that to be the case) and as someone who has been a Fed for over a decade you know that. I recommend putting the future hypotheticals out of your head as much as possible and just focus on what is in front of you. Things might not end up working out how you want them to but no sense worrying about them prematurely, imo. Or maybe things will work out the opposite and then you would have tortured yourself for no good reason, again in my opinion.

Until the future does become the present just remember to keep playing "The Game" as best as you can... That is all any of us can do and, frankly, it is good enough. There's my two cents... hope it helps some!

Something new ... now the IRS is asking if you're vaxxed on the application!

November 9, 2021

Honorable Shalanda Young
Acting Director
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20503

Mr. Jeff Zients
White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Acting Director Young and Mr. Zients,

As the National President of the National Treasury Employees Union, representing federal employees in 34 agencies and departments, I write to you today regarding the implementation of the vaccination mandate established by presidential Executive Order 14043 issued on Sept. 9, 2021. The Executive Order, and subsequent guidance from the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, requires federal employees to be fully vaccinated, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, by Nov. 22, 2021. That deadline is swiftly approaching. Most recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a rule which outlines a protocol for private-sector employers with more than 100 employees that provides an emphasis on getting vaccinated along with a testing option in lieu of an employee becoming vaccinated.

For NTEU and our members, this raises an issue of fundamental fairness that we cannot ignore. American workforces are being treated differently. The OSHA guidance provides practical options for creating safe workspaces and, importantly, provides options to employees that would allow them to continue to work safely without the threat of discipline or job loss. We believe that the federal government should revise its guidance and adopt the OSHA guidelines for its agencies and employees.

We are less than two weeks away from the Nov. 22 deadline for federal employees to be fully vaccinated and many federal agencies do not have solid data on whether employees are vaccinated and thousands of requests for reasonable accommodations have been submitted. The current approach creates different sets of rules for federal employees, contractors and the private sector. Many federal employees who decide not to be vaccinated will face removal despite the fact that they have continued to work during the pandemic, sometimes at great risk to their own health.

In addition, many federal agencies are unprepared and ill-equipped to absorb the loss of personnel through discipline and adverse actions which will negatively impact their ability to continue to meet their missions. Should significant numbers of federal employees remain unvaccinated, agencies will soon begin a disciplinary process that may culminate in their removal from their positions. Additionally, a great many federal employees are eligible for retirement and may choose to exercise that option even if they would prefer to remain with the federal government. This will result in reduced staff to perform the work of the American people and the resulting damage to federal agencies would reverberate across the government.

For years now, agencies have been underfunded and workforces stretched thin. The loss of experienced, dedicated and committed federal employees will exacerbate already heavy workloads, reduce services to the American people and cripple federal agencies. This is not a scenario that we, or our members, want to see happen. NTEU has recognized that vaccines are the best way to protect employees from severe illness and death from COVID-19. From the beginning, we have encouraged our members to get vaccinated. We also understand that there are employees who for many reasons have decided to not get vaccinated. These federal employees should be afforded the same options as those provided by the OSHA rule.

I therefore urge you to revise the requirements for federal employees to align them with those for workers in the private sector and respectfully request a meeting as soon as possible to discuss this request.

Sincerely,
Anthony M. Reardon
NTEU National President

If they go the private route with the OSHA rules, then you have to rely on testing. The tests are expensive and unreliable, so it's not going to happen for federal employees, because it's not practical. Testing only allowed for private employers because that's the most Biden can order for private employers ... he doesn't have the same limitation with federal jobs!

Gal Friday!!😊

I just stopped by to wish you the best, and hope that you find an opportunity in the federal service.

I don’t work for the IRS, but I work as an accountant for the Department of the Navy, and I would love To see someone who is so enthusiastic about finding a job in federal service find success.

As for me, I will be retiring early next year, Nothing to do with the mandate, I have already gotten the vaccine.

I’m just tired of working, and I hope some young ones find an opportunity in my absence.

I was just hanging around waiting for my $45,000 in student loans to be forgiven, and yesterday they were, so I’m done.

This is the IRS thread ... we are researching now to see if you have Cancellation of Indebtedness income!

This is the IRS thread ... we are researching now to see if you have Cancellation of Indebtedness income!