For Better Results, Call the Psychic Hotline
This is from an article on the Government Executive website. It’s why I wish we had trigger warnings before someone here posts, “I called IRS . . .” I need to lose weight, but not with bulimia.
The Internal Revenue Service is transferring another batch of employees to assist during tax filing season, renewing concerns among the workforce that staff highly specialized in fields not directly related to taxes are being thrust into roles for which they have no qualification. . . .
IRS management is placing employees into contact representative and tax examiner roles, though emails obtained by Government Executive stated they will not engage with taxpayers directly or answer phones. Employees will evaluate and research records to answer inquiries from individual taxpayers or analyze tax returns to help correct accounts, the agency told impacted staff. . . .
Employees who shared their new assignments with Government Executive worked in the IRS IT office until December, when they—along with about 1,500 colleagues—were transferred to the Office of the Chief Operating Officer. They have sat in limbo with no work assignments ever since. Now, they will work in Taxpayer Services for 120-day details that may be extended.
“I am grateful for no longer sitting on my a-- wasting taxpayer money for months, but this has the potential to be a disaster,” said one detailed employee, noting the lack of relevant experience for those assigned to the new roles.
Employees said they have not received any specifics on what they will be doing . . .They said they and their colleagues had no experience working on tax issues. “It’s going to be hard for a lot of people,” the employee said. “Most of us are 50-plus and being asked to learn something quickly.”
Another reassigned employee said they worked as a systems administrator and have spent their entire career in large, enterprise IT departments. “I don’t even do my own taxes at home, my wife does,” the person said. “I do IT, not taxes.”
Employees are set to begin training Feb. 23. IRS did not respond to an inquiry into what that training will look like or how long it will last, nor did it say how many total employees are going out on details.
