Internal Revenue Service: Status of IRS' Efforts to Deal With Integrity and Ethics Issues
GGD-92-16
Published: Dec 31, 1991. Publicly Released: Dec 31, 1991.
Skip to Highlights
Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reported on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) response to recommendations it made regarding integrity issues, focusing on: (1) improved employee communication and ethics awareness; and (2) perceptions about IRS disciplinary actions.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Revenue Service | IRS should focus attention on improving communications with employees and encouraging ethics awareness. |
Closed – Implemented
IRS has taken a number of steps; it has provided at least 8 hours of ethics training to almost 13,000 employees, published hotline numbers, and established regional ethics coordinators.
|
| Internal Revenue Service | IRS should publicize summary information about misconduct cases and sanctions taken against employees at all levels. |
Closed – Implemented
In March 1992, IRS published an agency-wide newsletter, providing sanitized examples of improper activities by employees, managers, and executives and sanctions imposed.
|
| Internal Revenue Service | IRS should use its Automated Labor Employee Relations Tracking System to review adjudicative actions against IRS employees to ensure that sanctions are adequately and equitably applied. |
Closed – Implemented
The Automated Labor Employee Relations Tracking System (ALERTS) has been enhanced to provide a comprehensive comparative database on disciplinary actions.
|
| Human Resources Division | IRS National Office Human Resource staff should oversee adjudication of disciplinary actions involving misconduct by IRS senior employees to eliminate perception of disparate treatment of these cases. |
Closed – Implemented
In January 1992, IRS consolidated the adjudication process for these cases, with all decisions coordinated by Human Resources staff.
|
Full Report
Office of Public Affairs
Topics
Disciplinary actionsEducationEthical conductFederal employeesFederal records managementInvestigations by federal agenciesLabor relationsManagement information systemsPersonnel managementTax administrationWorking conditions