TIGTA Interim Evaluation Report 2021-IE-R002 — IRS Leveraged Telework Program to Continue COVID-19 Operations

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Interim Report –  
The IRS Leveraged Its Telework Program to  
Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic  
 
 
March 23, 2021 
 
Report Number:  2021-IE-R002 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TIGTACommunications@tigta.treas.gov   |   www.treasury.gov/tigta 
 
TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION 

HIGHLIGHTS:  Interim Report – The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
Interim Evaluation Report issued on March 23, 2021 
Report Number 2021-IE-R002 
 
 
Why TIGTA Did This Study 
Telework allows Federal 
agencies to continue 
operations during a pandemic 
or other event that would 
result in the closure of Federal 
Government buildings.  To 
effectively continue operations 
during an emergency, as many 
employees as possible should 
be prepared to telework. 
On March 13, 2020, the 
President of the United States 
declared a national emergency 
due to the outbreak of the 
Coronavirus Disease 2019 
(COVID-19) pandemic.   
By March 16, 2020, the IRS 
began closing some offices.  
Effective March 30, 2020, IRS 
employees were directed to 
evacuate offices and telework, 
if possible.  In July 2020, the 
IRS reopened offices to 
employees with nonportable 
work and mission-critical 
functions. 
TIGTA conducted this 
evaluation to determine 
whether the IRS effectively 
used its telework program to 
reduce the impact of the 
COVID-19 pandemic on IRS 
operations. 
Impact on Taxpayers 
The IRS must have a program 
in place to ensure the 
continuity of its essential 
functions during an 
emergency, such as a 
pandemic.  A robust telework 
program is a critical 
component of a plan to allow 
employees to work effectively 
from alternative sites and 
continue tax administration 
and mission-critical operations. 
What TIGTA Found 
The COVID-19 pandemic began to have a significant impact on IRS 
operations in mid-March 2020 when the IRS began to close facilities and 
employees were diagnosed with COVID-19.  Between March 14 and 
March 28, 2020, the number of employees who worked any amount of 
time at IRS facilities declined from about 70,700 to 19,400, and the 
number of employees who teleworked any amount of time increased 
from about 27,500 to 41,000.  By March 28, 2020, the IRS placed nearly 
35,000 employees on paid Weather and Safety Leave because they 
could not work in IRS facilities or telework during some portion of the 
two-week period.  Effective March 30, 2020, the IRS directed all 
employees, except for those individuals performing mission-critical 
functions that could not be performed remotely, to vacate the work site 
and work from home or an alternate location. 
Between April 2020 and the end of September 2020, the IRS steadily 
increased telework participation and reopened IRS facilities to some 
employees.  By September 26, 2020, almost 60,700 employees 
teleworked a portion of the week, while approximately 25,600 
employees worked from an IRS facility for a portion of the week.  For 
this same week, approximately 6,700 employees reported time to 
Weather and Safety Leave.  The figure below illustrates the increase in 
telework participation from after the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a 
national emergency and through September 2020. 
 
By December 19, 2020, around 4,600 IRS employees recorded time to 
Weather and Safety Leave. 
Information in this interim report was requested by Congress in House 
Report 116–456, accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act  
of 2021.  TIGTA was instructed to submit a report within 90 days of 
enactment.  TIGTA plans to issue a subsequent report that will provide 
additional information on the IRS’s use of telework during the 
pandemic. 
What TIGTA Recommended 
TIGTA made no recommendations in this report. 
 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 
WASHINGTON, D.C.  20220 
TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL 
FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION 
 
 
 
March 23, 2021 
 
 
MEMORANDUM FOR: COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE 
 
FROM: 
Heather M. Hill 
 
 
Acting Deputy Inspector General for Inspections and Evaluations 
 
SUBJECT: 
Interim Report – The IRS Leveraged Its Telework Program to Continue 
Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic (IE-20-010-C) 
 
This report presents the interim results of our evaluation to determine whether the Internal 
Revenue Service (IRS) effectively used its telework program to reduce the impact of the 
Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic on IRS operations.  Information in this interim report was 
requested by Congress in House Report 116–456, accompanying the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act of 2021.1  We were instructed to submit a report within 90 days of 
enactment.  A subsequent report is planned for issuance later in Fiscal Year 2021 that will 
provide updates to the information in this report.  This evaluation is included in our Fiscal 
Year 2021 Program Plan and addresses the major management and performance challenge of 
Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic. 
This report was prepared to provide information only.  Therefore, we made no 
recommendations in the report.  However, we provided IRS management officials with an 
advance copy of this report for review and comment prior to issuance. 
Copies of this report are also being sent to the IRS managers affected by the report information.  
If you have any questions, please contact me or James A. Douglas, Director, Office of Inspections 
and Evaluations. 
                                               
1 Pub. L. No. 116-260. 

 
 
Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
Table of Contents 
Background .....................................................................................................................................Page 1 
Results of Review........................................................................................................................Page 3 
The IRS Leveraged Its Telework Program to Continue 
Operations During the Pandemic ..................................................................................Page 3 
Office Hours Increased Slowly As the IRS Began to Reopen Offices ................Page 9 
Employees Who Were Unable to Telework Used Weather 
and Safety Leave...................................................................................................................Page 9 
Appendices 
Appendix I – Detailed Objective, Scope, and Methodology ................................Page 12 
Appendix II – Abbreviations .............................................................................................Page 13 
 
 
 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
Background 
The IRS must have a program in place to ensure the continuity of its essential functions during 
an emergency, such as a pandemic.  Telework is a work flexibility arrangement under which 
employees perform their duties and responsibilities from an approved worksite other than the 
location from which employees would otherwise work.1  A robust telework program and 
ensuring as many employees as possible are prepared to telework are critical components of a 
plan to allow employees to work effectively from alternative sites and continue tax 
administration and mission-critical operations.  Per the Internal Revenue Manual, telework-ready 
employees have an approved telework agreement, completed telework training, and the 
necessary equipment and work files at their telework location (or transportable to the telework 
location) to perform required duties.2  Telework is an essential component of the Internal 
Revenue Service’s (IRS) Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) because telework allows the IRS to 
continue fulfilling its mission through emergencies that would result in a change of operating 
status, such as a pandemic. 
The first case of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States was 
confirmed on January 21, 2020.  On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States officially 
declared a national emergency due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Following the 
President’s declaration, the IRS Commissioner instructed its senior leadership to immediately 
implement provisions to maximize telework flexibility for eligible employees Service-wide, 
expand leave flexibility, restrict non-mission-critical travel and training, and reduce in-person 
contacts by any reasonable means. 
The COVID-19 pandemic began to have a significant impact on IRS operations in  
mid-March 2020 when the IRS began to close facilities and employees were diagnosed with 
COVID-19.  On March 27, 2020, the IRS issued an evacuation order that directed all employees 
to evacuate the work site and work from home or an alternate location, effective March 30.3 
Leading up to the issuance of the evacuation order, the IRS placed tens of thousands of 
employees on Weather and Safety Leave (WSL) because their work was either nonportable or 
they did not have the necessary information technology equipment to work remotely.  WSL is a 
form of administrative leave permitted when an agency determines that safety-related 
conditions prevent employees from safely traveling to or safely performing work at an approved 
location or telework site. 
Figure 1 documents events that had a significant impact on IRS employees’ ability to work from 
an IRS facility, an alternate location, or take WSL. 
                                               
1 Telework Enhancement Act of 2010.  Pub. L. No. 111-292, 124 Stat. 3165 (2010). 
2 Internal Revenue Manual 10.6.2, Continuity Plan Requirements (Mar. 11, 2020) and Internal Revenue Manual 6.800.2, 
Employee Benefits, IRS Telework Program (Feb. 7, 2018).  The Internal Revenue Manual is the IRS’s primary official 
source of instructions to staff related to the administration and operations of the IRS.  It contains the directions 
employees need to carry out their operational responsibilities. 
3 IRS offices were closed to all employees except for individuals performing mission-critical functions that must 
continue during the national emergency and can only be performed on-site. 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
Figure 1:  Timeline of Calendar Year 2020 COVID-19 Related Events 
 
 
Source:  Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA)-generated chart based on 
Federal and IRS guidance, IRS data concerning facility closures and employees testing positive for 
COVID-19, and significant pandemic-related events. 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
Results of Review 
The IRS Leveraged Its Telework Program to Continue Operations During the 
Pandemic 
Based on the IRS’s COOP, the IRS assumed that a pandemic event could cause an absentee rate 
of up to 40 percent among IRS employees.4  In this scenario, the IRS assumed absences would 
occur in “waves” with employees becoming ill, recovering, and returning to work, as other 
employees contracted the disease and followed the same pattern.  The plans also assumed a 
pandemic event would not necessarily require the use of alternate facilities.  However, the plan 
did not anticipate that a pandemic event would result in a simultaneous closure of all IRS 
facilities resulting in the inability of tens of thousands of employees to perform their jobs.  
At the beginning of Fiscal Year (FY)5 2020, prior to the 
pandemic, the IRS had a workforce of more than 
78,000 employees and the IRS identified approximately 
39,000 IRS employees (50 percent) were identified as 
telework eligible.6  We analyzed IRS weekly time reports 
before and after the COVID-19 pandemic began to assess 
the pandemic’s impact on IRS operations.7  Our analysis 
was based primarily on the total number of employees 
who charged any time during the workweek to each 
category listed below: 
• 
In-Office Time – Employees who reported to an IRS facility. 
• 
Telework – Employees who worked from an alternate location. 
• 
WSL – Employees who could not work from an IRS facility or telework. 
The COVID-19 pandemic grew rapidly in the United States and began to have a significant 
impact on IRS operations in mid-March 2020, when the IRS decided to close numerous facilities 
to reduce the spread of the virus.  Between March 14 and March 28, 2020, the number of 
employees who reported any time worked at IRS facilities decreased from approximately  
70,700 to 19,400 employees (a 73 percent decrease).8  The number of employees who reported 
any time to telework increased from approximately 27,500 to 41,000 employees (a 49 percent 
                                               
4 IRS Headquarters Continuity/COOP Plan (May 1, 2020). 
5 A fiscal year is any yearly accounting period, regardless of its relationship to a calendar year.  The Federal 
Government’s fiscal year begins October 1 and ends September 30. 
6 Telework-eligible employees are those employees who are authorized to apply for telework. 
7 We obtained weekly time reports from the IRS management information system, the Treasury Integrated 
Management Information System (TIMIS), and its time and attendance reporting system, the Single Entry Time 
Reporting (SETR) system.  The TIMIS is the official automated personnel and payroll system for storing and tracking all 
employee personnel and payroll data.  The SETR is an online payroll system that enables the timely input of time and 
attendance data to the National Finance Center for the generation of the employee’s paycheck every pay period. 
8 Throughout this report, employee numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred.  However, percentages have 
been calculated using the actual number of employees before rounding.  As a result, actual percentage amounts in 
the narrative may not equal the percentage if calculated using the rounded number. 
Between March 14 and  
March 28, 2020, the number of 
employees who reported any 
time to telework increased 
from approximately 27,500 to 
41,000 employees  
(a 49 percent increase). 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
increase).  However, the number of employees who reported any time to WSL (employees who 
were unable to work from the office or telework) increased from roughly 200 to approximately 
35,000 employees (an 18,711 percent increase) during the same period.9  Figure 2 summarizes 
the change in time charges between March 14 and March 28, 2020. 
Figure 2:  Change in Number of Employees Reporting Time in Office,  
Telework, and WSL Between March 14 and March 28, 2020 
70,658
27,508 
186 
19,386 
40,980 
34,988 
Work From Office
Telework
Weather & Safety
(Decrease of 73%)
(Increase of 49%)
(Increase of 18,711%)
 
Source:  TIGTA analysis of FY 2020 IRS Time Integrated Management Information System (TIMIS) and 
Single Entry Time Reporting (SETR) data. 
On March 27, 2020, the IRS issued an evacuation order directing all employees, except for those 
individuals performing mission-critical functions that could not be performed remotely, to 
vacate the work site by March 30 and work from home or an alternate location.  The IRS had to 
respond quickly to safely evacuate employees from IRS facilities and provide nontelework-ready 
employees with the required information technology equipment needed to effectively work 
from alternative locations.  Since the start of the pandemic, the IRS telework program has been 
critical to maintaining IRS operations during the pandemic.  Figure 3 shows how the IRS 
significantly increased the number of teleworkers and decreased the number of employees on 
WSL between March 28 and September 26, 2020. 
                                               
9 TIGTA’s reporting of time and attendance data includes identifying employees charging time, in any amount, to the 
three time categories identified in this report.  Therefore, throughout this report, the number of IRS employees 
charging time to office hours, telework, and WSL will appear higher than the total number of IRS employees because 
employees may record time to multiple time codes, in any amount, during the same week.  For example, an employee 
could work in the office three days, telework from home one day, and be on WSL for one day during a workweek. 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
Figure 3:  IRS Employee Status Prior to and After the Evacuation Order 
 
Source:  TIGTA analysis of FY 2020 IRS TIMIS and SETR data and IRS documentation. 
Prior to the pandemic, IRS employees who participated in telework had an approved telework 
agreement, completed telework training, and met the following requirements: 
• 
Resided within 150 miles of their post of duty (POD). 
• 
Reported to their POD at least twice per pay period. 
• 
Had no serious disciplinary infractions. 
• 
Had a performance rating of fully successful or above. 
In response to the pandemic and the evacuation order, the IRS waived the requirement for 
employees to have an approved telework agreement and encouraged, but did not require, new 
teleworkers to complete the telework training program after they began teleworking.10  
Additionally, IRS Human Capital Office officials indicated that the IRS waived several other 
                                               
10 According to the Office of Personnel Management, the expectation of telework by an employee can be affected by 
an agency’s implementation of a COOP or an agency action under an evacuation order.  During any period when an 
agency is operating under a COOP, the COOP supersedes any agency telework policy.  Accordingly, under a COOP, an 
agency may direct more employees to telework and may direct employees to telework even if they were not telework 
program participants. 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
telework policies, with the approval of the Department of the Treasury, and opened the IRS 
telework program to all eligible employees.11 
Prior to the pandemic, between October 2019 and early March 2020, an average of 
26,000 employees (about one-third of the IRS workforce) teleworked for approximately  
22 hours each week.12  By March 21, 2020, more than 36,500 employees teleworked an average 
of nearly 33 hours per week.  After March 21, 2020, the number of teleworkers continued to 
increase.  By September 26, 2020, nearly 60,700 employees teleworked at least some time 
during the week, a 134 percent increase from the weekly average before the pandemic.  These 
60,700 employees teleworked an average of 36 hours a week, a 64 percent increase in the 
weekly average before the pandemic.  Figure 4 shows the increase in telework participation after 
the COVID-19 outbreak is declared a national emergency and through September 2020. 
Figure 4:  Number of Telework Employees Grows After the  
COVID-19 Outbreak Is Declared a National Emergency 
 
Source:  TIGTA analysis of FY 2020 IRS TIMIS and SETR Data. 
A limiting factor to the growth of employee telework participation was the IRS’s ability to 
identify, prioritize, and issue laptop computers and other information technology equipment to 
employees who previously had not participated in the telework program.  The IRS indicated that 
it converted employees from desktops or shared workstations to individually assigned laptops 
through a set of IRS information technology initiatives designed to make previously 
nontelework-ready employees ready to work remotely.  Although the IRS was unable to 
                                               
11 Some of the waived telework policies that previously prohibited employees from teleworking included allowing 
employees to telework who:  1) were disciplined for misconduct, 2) were suspended from telework for 12 months, 
3) resided more than 150 miles from their POD, and 4) were not rated fully successful in their performance review. 
12 The October 2019 through March 2020 period excludes the pay period including the Christmas and New Year 
Federal holidays (pay period 26-2019) because the number of employees reporting time to teleworks hours is skewed 
as a result of employees reporting time to holiday and annual leave categories. 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
distribute many laptops in March 2020, by May 2020, the IRS had issued more than 
12,600 laptops to employees.  As of October 2020, nearly 18,600 laptops had been distributed.  
According to the IRS, during this initiative, each IRS business unit was responsible for identifying 
those employees who had portable work and required a laptop to telework, and for determining 
the priority or order in which employees should receive the laptops and other information 
technology equipment.  Figure 5 illustrates the number of users who were converted from either 
a shared workstation or desktop to individually assigned laptops during the pandemic. 
Figure 5:  Laptops Issued During the  
COVID-19 Pandemic to Support Telework 
Month 
Laptops Issued 
March 2020 
997 
April 2020 
6,787 
May 2020 
4,839 
June 2020 
1,871 
July 2020 
911 
August 2020 
781 
September 2020 
1,829 
October 2020 
562 
Total 
18,577 
Source:  TIGTA analysis of IRS Knowledge,  
Incident/Problem Services Asset Manager data.13 
Prior to March 2020, approximately 16,500 employees were classified as customer service 
representatives, and the IRS indicated that only 3 percent of customer service representatives 
were provisioned to telework.  However, as of October 2020, the IRS stated that 100 percent of 
customer service representatives could now work remotely.  As of September 30, 2020, the IRS 
indicated that it is continuing to work with the business units to identify additional users who 
require laptops to be telework enabled; however, the IRS believes it has enough inventory to 
support additional needs. 
Although the IRS issued more than 18,000 laptops to expand its employees’ ability to telework, 
other technology-related concerns affected teleworking employees.  For example, TIGTA’s Office 
of Audit conducted a series of site visits at the Fresno, California; Kansas City, Missouri; 
Austin, Texas; and Ogden, Utah tax processing sites.  Managers in these centers noted several 
information technology-related concerns affecting teleworking employees including: 
• 
Delays at the helpdesk. 
• 
Issues logging in through the Virtual Private Network. 
                                               
13 TIGTA did not independently validate these data.  The Knowledge, Incident/Problem Services Asset Manager is the 
authoritative source for all Hardware Asset Management and inventory information within the IRS and is the official 
IRS centralized asset management inventory database of all information technology and non-information technology 
personal property.  The Knowledge, Incident/Problem Services Asset Manager tracks each item of 
reportable/accountable property through the asset’s life cycle (acquisition through final disposal). 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
• 
Issues with equipment. 
• 
Issues with the SharePoint sites not working. 
We identified several IRS time codes used to capture downtime related to information 
technology issues.  Figure 6 shows that between late January 2020 and April 2020, across the 
IRS, total downtime hours were typically below 10,000 hours per week.  However, between 
May 2020 and September 2020, total information technology downtime increased significantly, 
ranging from 20,000 to 30,000 hours per week. 
Figure 6:  Hours of Downtime Due to Information Technology Problems  
(January to September 2020) 
 
Source:  TIGTA analysis of SETR information technology downtime codes for FY 2020. 
Total information technology downtime consists of downtime charged by employees when: 
• 
System Downtime – includes idle time when enterprise-wide systems/applications are 
down preventing the accomplishment of work in the enterprise. 
• 
Computer Downtime – idle time when an employee’s individual computer is 
unavailable due to computer-related issues preventing the accomplishment of work. 
• 
Information Technology Helpdesk Downtime - idle time when an employee is waiting 
for information technology helpdesk assistance, including idle time while the Information 
Technology organization is resolving the issue. 
During the pandemic, all three types of downtime increased as the IRS expanded the use of 
telework.  We plan to report on various technology-related concerns affecting telework 
employees as part of our final report. 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
Office Hours Increased Slowly As the IRS Began to Reopen Offices 
On April 27, 2020, almost one month after the evacuation order, the IRS began recalling 
employees to work at IRS facilities on a voluntary basis.  By the week ending May 2, 2020, about 
8,200 employees had reported to IRS offices for at least some time during the week.  By the end 
of May 2020, approximately 9,700 employees reported to the office an average of 13 hours per 
week.  This initial voluntary recall was the start of a gradual trend to increase the numbers of 
employees reporting to IRS facilities.  Other events that would increase the number of 
employees reporting to IRS offices included: 
• 
June 1, 2020 – The IRS reopened facilities in Kentucky, Texas, and Utah.  By the week 
ending June 6, 2020, about 14,900 employees reported to the office at least part-time, an 
increase of 5,200 employees (53 percent) over the prior week. 
• 
June 15, 2020 – The Kansas City Submission Processing Site and additional facilities  
in Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, and Tennessee reopened.  By June 20, 2020, 
18,700 employees reported to the office at least part-time, an increase of  
3,800 employees (26 percent) from the previous two weeks. 
• 
June 29, 2020 – The Fresno Submission Processing Site and additional facilities in 
California, Indiana, Ohio, Oregon, and Puerto Rico reopened.  By the end of the week, on 
July 4, 2020, 19,300 employees reported to the office at least part-time, an increase of 
600 employees (3 percent) over the prior two weeks. 
• 
July 13, 2020 - The IRS reported that the majority of its facilities reopened to those 
employees with nonportable work or mission-critical functions.  By July 18, 2020, 
23,300 employees reported to the office at least part-time, an increase of 
4,000 employees (21 percent) over the prior two weeks.14 
Employees Who Were Unable to Telework Used Weather and Safety Leave 
As a result of the evacuation order, the majority of 
IRS employees continued either teleworking or 
were approved for use of WSL after it was 
determined that the employee could not safely 
travel to, or safely perform work at, their normal 
POD, a telework site, or other approved location.  
Some IRS employees placed on WSL were ineligible 
to telework because their work was nonportable. 
Between March 14, 2020, and the end of FY 2020, 
tens of thousands of IRS employees were placed on WSL.  For the week ending March 14, 2020, 
the same week that the President of the United States declared the COVID-19 outbreak a 
national emergency, approximately 200 employees charged time to WSL.  The IRS reached  
its highest level of employees on WSL, nearly 35,000 employees, during the week ending 
March 28, 2020.  After March 28, the number of employees who charged any time to WSL 
                                               
14 Between May 31 and July 11, 2020, IRS employees reported working an average of 21 hours per week in an IRS 
POD. 
The IRS reduced the number of 
employees charging time to WSL by 
reopening IRS facilities, recalling 
employees back to IRS facilities 
voluntarily, and issuing information 
technology equipment to employees so 
they could begin to telework. 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
generally declined each week, until it reached about 6,700 employees by the end of 
September 2020.  The IRS reduced the number of employees charging time to WSL by 
reopening IRS facilities, recalling employees to IRS facilities voluntarily, and issuing information 
technology equipment to employees so they could begin to telework. 
Figure 7 shows the number of IRS employees using WSL between March 2020 and 
September 2020.  
Figure 7:  IRS Employee Use of WSL During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
 
Source:  TIGTA analysis of FY 2020 IRS TIMIS and SETR data. 
On September 17, 2020, the IRS Human Capital Officer notified all IRS employees that effective 
immediately employees were required to provide medical documentation in order to remain on 
and use WSL.  The appropriate medical documentation must be provided by a licensed 
healthcare professional and need only contain information validating that the employee is at an 
increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19, in accordance with U.S. Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention guidelines, which precludes them from traveling and working in the 
office.15 
Prior to this announcement, and in accordance with U.S. Office of Management and Budget 
guidance, IRS employees did not need to submit documentation to support their request for 
and use of WSL, and they only needed to self-identify as being at higher risk of serious 
complications resulting from exposure to COVID-19.  Prior to this notification, to self-identify as 
being at high risk, IRS employees had the option of completing a form or sending an e-mail to 
their manager, without medical documentation, to request WSL. 
                                               
15 Employees will not be required to reveal any details about the underlying medical condition to their manager in the 
medical documentation provided. 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
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The IRS Human Capital Officer indicated that, due to mission requirements, effective 
October 13, 2020, only IRS employees who have provided appropriate medical documentation 
stating that they are at increased risk of health complications due to COVID-19, or who have a 
valid extension of time to provide the required medical documentation for such determination, 
will remain on WSL.  The IRS stated that the reason behind requiring medical documentation 
was due to the continued need to increase operations to meet mission requirements and that 
the requirement to submit medical documentation will ensure that those at increased risk are 
not required to report to the office.  Additionally, the IRS stated that because medical facilities 
were no longer operating at surge capacity and overwhelmed with patients seeking COVID-19 
diagnoses and care, it decided that the timing was right for the IRS to validate increased-risk 
statuses by requiring medical documentation from employees who have self-identified. 
By December 19, 2020, the number of employees who reported any time to WSL was 
approximately 4,600, a reduction of 2,100 employees (31 percent decrease) since the end of 
September 2020.  To provide a more complete analysis of the effect of the IRS’s requirement for 
employees to submit medical documentation to use and remain on WSL, an analysis of the time 
and attendance records will be provided in the final report. 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
Appendix I 
Detailed Objective, Scope, and Methodology 
Our overall objective was to determine whether the IRS effectively used its telework program to 
reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on IRS operations.  To accomplish our objective, 
we: 
• 
Identified indicators that measure how effectively IRS management continued operations 
by enabling employees to telework and/or return to a POD during the pandemic. 
• 
Determined whether the IRS significantly increased the number of eligible teleworkers 
and telework participants to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on IRS operations. 
• 
Reviewed the strategy and procedures the IRS used to distribute additional laptops and 
other information technology equipment to IRS employees who did not previously have 
telework agreements and who were previously not telework eligible. 
• 
Assessed the impact of processes used to return employees to work as IRS offices began 
reopening. 
• 
Determined the factors used by IRS employees to self-identify as at high risk for having 
serious complications from COVID-19, how employees recorded their time, and whether 
the IRS Human Capital Officer required employees to submit documentation to support 
the use of WSL due to self-identifying. 
Performance of This Review 
This review was performed with information obtained from the IRS Human Capital Officer offices 
located in Washington, D.C.  We conducted this evaluation in accordance with the Council of the 
Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency Quality Standards for Inspection and Evaluation. 
Major contributors to the report were James Douglas, Director; Brandon Crowder, Supervisory 
Auditor; John da Cruz, Lead Evaluator; Earl Burney, Senior Evaluator; and Michelle Griffin, Senior 
Auditor. 

 
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Interim Report –  The IRS Leveraged Its Telework  
Program to Continue Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
Appendix II 
Abbreviations 
COOP 
Continuity of Operations Plan 
COVID-19 
Coronavirus Disease 2019 
FY 
Fiscal Year 
IRS 
Internal Revenue Service 
POD 
Post of Duty 
SETR 
Single Entry Time Reporting System 
TIGTA 
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 
TIMIS 
Treasury Integrated Management Information System 
WSL 
Weather and Safety Leave 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
To report fraud, waste, or abuse,  
call our toll-free hotline at: 
(800) 366-4484 
By Web: 
www.treasury.gov/tigta/ 
Or Write: 
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 
P.O. Box 589 
Ben Franklin Station 
Washington, D.C. 20044-0589 
 
 
Information you provide is confidential, and you may remain anonymous.

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SHA-256

7bc57eee5f52bdef451fa6c57b69ec2f9c052ad1814ef666e39a3eba619f7009

Our copy

REPORT_TIGTA_interim-report-the-irs-leveraged-its-telework-program-to-continue-oper_2021-03-23.pdf

Original

www.oversight.gov