More than 40 Internal Revenue Service employees had died due to COVID-19 as of June, despite the agency stockpiling face masks, hand sanitizer and other protections, according to a new report.
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The report found that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the IRS’s ability to process tax returns, tax payments and tax refunds, however.
“The pandemic also threatens the lives of IRS employees; as of June 2021, the IRS reported that over 40 employees have passed away from the virus,” said the report. “As such, the IRS has had to balance the completion of its mission and the health and safety of its employees and contractors and others who visit IRS facilities.”
As part of its response to the pandemic, the IRS created printable COVID-19 health and safety posters to remind employees about proper health and safety procedures. TIGTA saw most of the posters at all nine facilities it visited.
Masks are a crucial step to help prevent people from getting and spreading COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. TIGTA found that all individuals at the IRS facilities it visited, whether vaccinated or not, were required to wear masks while in the facility. While most individuals were wearing face masks correctly, TIGTA saw some people who were wearing the masks improperly. Some wore their mask below their chins or off their faces completely.
TIGTA also found the IRS implemented modifications at all nine facilities to help maintain social distancing, including separating employee desks, posting occupancy limit signs at elevators and in conference and meeting rooms, and limiting seating and self-service in cafeterias and break rooms. While TIGTA found most people maintaining social distance, some weren’t keeping at least six feet of space as required by IRS guidance. TIGTA saw some people walking together in hallways, sitting together and eating in the cafeteria or break rooms, and working together in cubicles.
The union representing IRS employees, the National Treasury Employees Union, said the report reflects worker experiences during the pandemic. “TIGTA's findings on health and safety measures at a limited number of IRS facilities reflects generally what we have been hearing from frontline IRS employees throughout the pandemic,” said NTEU national president Tony Reardon in a statement. “There are frequent instances of certain safety protocols not being fully and consistently enforced at the local level. In each case, NTEU leaders bring these to the attention of management, at the local and national level, to get resolved. We commend TIGTA for recognizing the tragic COVID-19 deaths of 40 IRS employees around the country and acknowledging the difficulty of making sure the IRS accomplishes its important mission while also protecting the health of its workforce.”
TIGTA made no recommendations in the report, but its Office of Audit plans to issue a separate report that will provide more information about compliance related to face masks and social distancing and any resulting recommendations.
