The Department of Treasury has the authority to approve the appointment of Experts and Consultants without the prior approval of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Treasury delegated this authority to the bureaus. The authority for recruitment and selection is delegated to bureau heads, who are responsible for ensuring that hiring and employment decisions are made in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, OPM guidance and requirements, and Treasury policies. This authority is delegated to the IRS Human Capital Officer.

IRM 6.304.1 provides Servicewide policy, standards, requirements, and guidance relating to the administration of employing experts and consultants and processing guidance for the appointment of experts for the Art Advisory Panel of the Commissioner. This IRM must be read and interpreted in accordance with pertinent law, Governmentwide regulations, Treasury Human Resources Directives, and applicable case law. All previous official Servicewide policy, guidance, requirements, and authorities formerly contained in memoranda, guides, and other documents are incorporated into this IRM, if current and applicable.

Laws: United States Code (USC), https://uscode.house.gov/

Regulations: Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5

Other:

The IRS HCO is responsible for this IRM and overall Servicewide policy for ensuring expert and consultant appointments are made in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

The HCO, OHRS, P&A, is responsible for monitoring and updating content in this IRM.

The HCO, OHRO, TA, is responsible for recruitment and hiring.

The Independent Office of Appeals, Director, Art Appraisal Services, is responsible for contacting the art expert and following guidelines in this IRM.

The Independent Office of Appeals, Director, Human Capital and Finance, is responsible to review and process appointee’s paperwork, per guidelines in this IRM.

Program Reviews: Treasury Policy HCIS TN-16-003, Expert and Consultant Appointments, provides guidance on reviews, reports, certification, and checklists.

Program Reports: Records must be maintained of each Expert and Consultant appointment that include the number of days they are employed, the total amount paid, a copy of signed checklists, and a copy of Standard Form (SF) 50. Submit any requested reports to Treasury. Refer to HCIS TN-16-003.

An appointment under 5 USC 3109 - Employment of experts and consultants; temporary or intermittent may be made only for an expert or consultant as defined, below, and when authorized by an appropriation or other statue.

Treasury Policy HCIS TN-16-003, states the required program controls, including:

There are various program controls throughout this IRM including, the onboarding procedures (tax check, fingerprint check, background investigation), a signed Memorandum of Understanding between PS and the Art Advisory Panel for investigative services, and others.

Consultant - A person who can provide valuable and pertinent advice generally drawn from a high degree of broad administrative, professional, or technical knowledge or experience. When an agency requires public advisory participation, a consultant also may be a person who is affected by a particular program and can provide useful views from personal experience.

Consultant Position - A consultant position is one that requires providing advice, views, opinions, alternatives, or recommendations on a temporary and/or intermittent basis on issues, problems, or questions presented by a federal official.

Expert - A person who is specially qualified by education and experience to perform difficult and challenging tasks in a particular field beyond the usual range of achievement of competent persons in that field. An expert is regarded by others as an authority or practitioner of unusual competence and skill in a professional, scientific, technical, or other activity.

Expert Position - An expert position is one that requires the services of a specialist with skills superior to those of others in the same profession, occupation, or activity to perform work on a temporary and/or intermittent basis assigned by a federal official.

Intermittent employment - Employment without a regularly scheduled tour of duty.

Temporary employment - Employment not to exceed 1 year. An expert or consultant serving under a temporary appointment may have a full-time, part-time, seasonal, or intermittent work schedule.

Employment without compensation - means unpaid service that is provided at the agency's request and is to perform duties that are unclassified. It is not volunteer service.

The table lists commonly used acronyms used in this IRM.

Experts and consultants; temporary or intermittent positions, are excepted from competitive examination; 5 CFR 332 and the Classification Act of 1949 do not apply. It is Treasury’s policy that expert and consultant appointments are only made to positions equivalent to GS-13 or above.

Policy Statement 6-46 indicates expert and consultant appointments are to be used sparingly, to a minimum, and only when objectives cannot be met by the permanent workforce or other type of temporary employment.

Appointments may be intermittent or temporary.. If intermittent, the appointment may be without time limit or for a specified time; if temporary, the appointment cannot exceed one year (unless reappointed).

An expert or consultant who works on a part-time or intermittent schedule may be reappointed to perform substantially the same duties with no limit on the number of reappointments, if the individual worked less than 1,040 hours (or 6 months) within the current service year. The service year is the calendar year that begins on the date of the individual's initial appointment in the agency.

An expert or consultant who works full-time may be reappointed to perform substantially the same duties only once, for a maximum of two years of employment (one year on the initial appointment not to exceed one year; and one additional year when reappointed, not to exceed one additional year). (5 CFR 316.401(c))

Unless authorized by an appropriation or other statute, pay may be set at the equivalent of the base pay rate for any grade and step between GS-13/1 and GS-15/10. Pay is based on the level and difficulty of work performed, the qualifications of the individual, pay rate for comparable work, and the availability of qualified candidates. Pay may be determined on an hourly or daily basis, but aggregate pay for any one day cannot exceed the daily rate of base pay for a GS-15/10, and aggregate pay for any biweekly period cannot exceed the biweekly rate of base pay for a GS-15/10.

An expert or consultant may be employed without compensation provided the individual submits a written waiver in advance. (5 CFR 304.102 (h))

An employee who undertakes service with two departments or agencies must inform each department or agency about the arrangements with the other. Each department or agency should estimate the amount of employee service for the period of employment. The sum of the two estimates must be in accordance with 5 CFR 304.105.

Before recommending an expert or consultant appointment, ensure:

Employees who separate from the IRS must refrain from making unfair use of their prior positions and affiliations.

All new employees, including those selected from other agencies and those selected from outside the government, will receive a copy of Document 7106, Post-Government Employment Restrictions for Internal Revenue Service and Chief Counsel Employees, prior to or along with a final offer of employment in accordance with 18 USC 207, conflict of interest provisions.

Appointing a relative may also pose a conflict of interest. The appointing official is required to sign Form 15207, Non-Conflict Certification, prior to appointment.

An Industrial Psychologist can be helpful in selecting and using Behavioral Science Consultants. They can recommend competent, well-respected consultants, whose expertise is particularly relevant to given organizational needs. They may also evaluate would-be consultants’ proposals for relevance, feasibility, and technical quality; and explore the possibility of using resources within the IRS to meet organizational needs.

The following is suggested criteria for selecting a Behavioral Science Consultant, a psychologist, or a consultant psychologist. These are only suggestions and should not be applied rigidly or without considering individual circumstances or consultant attributes. In general, a reputable consultant will:

Consultants who have proven themselves at other organizations can usually be expected to perform well for the IRS. However, in speaking with former clients of the consultant, care should be taken to determine what professional services were performed, when they were performed, and the actual involvement of the consultant in the company. Often “in-company” personnel researchers who have observed the consultant at work will provide the most accurate evaluation.

Tax checks and fingerprint checks must be completed on experts and consultants who are primarily selected for Treasury/IRS Advisory Committees. In some cases, a Personal Identification Verification (PIV) check and/or background investigation may be required. IRM 10.23.2, Contractor Investigations, provides guidance on background investigations, tax checks and fingerprinting.

The Department of Homeland Security uses E-Verify for identity verification and employment authorization of potential employees.

E-Verify is required in the onboarding process. Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, must be completed for expert and consultant appointments. Form I-9 is available online at: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9

Request for Personnel Action (SF-52) must include:

Consent for Fingerprint Check, Form 12333 - completed, signed, and dated by appointee.

Consent to Disclose Tax Compliance Check, Form 14767 - completed, signed, and dated by appointee.

Expert or Consultant Checklist Exhibit 6.304.1-2 or Exhibit 6.304.1-3 - a statement from the appointing authority or designee certifying that:

Statement of Duties - A written description of the duties to be performed in sufficient detail to show that the position requires the services of an expert or consultant.

Resume - The resume should be current (within one year) and include sufficient information to demonstrate that the individual is qualified to carry out the described duties. In addition, it should include the individual’s current salary.

Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, Form 450, issued by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE). In cases where the proposed appointee is ultimately being considered for appointment to a position that requires the Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, OGE Form 278 is also acceptable.

Non-Conflict Certification, Form 15207 completed, signed, and dated by the appointing official.

Treasury Policy HCIS -TN-16-003, states prior approval by Treasury is not required; however, the IRS HR officer or designee must review any proposed appointment and sign the Expert or Consultant Certification Checklist prior to appointment. (Exhibit 6.304.1-2 or Exhibit 6.304.1-3)

If an expert or consultant requires a National Security Clearance to perform their work, the investigation and favorable adjudication must be sponsored and completed by IRS PS prior to the expert or consultant beginning work in accordance with 32 CFR 117, National Industrial Security Program. Experts and consultants requiring National Security Clearances must follow IRM 10.9.1, Classified National Security Information (NSI), requirements for the protection and handling of NSI. Experts and consultants will not access NSI off the premises of IRS except in connection with authorized classified visits.

The Director of Art Appraisal Services (AAS), Appeals, makes the initial contact with art experts and:

The AAS Director forwards the following paperwork to the director of Human Capital and Finance, Appeals:

The Director, Human Capital and Finance, Appeals must review and process the appointee's paperwork as follows:

Procedures require completed pre-appointment fingerprint screening and periodic tax checks. Only authorized individuals from Appeals may request tax checks and receive the results from the Disclosure Office. The authorized IRS sponsoring official responsible for the Art Advisory Committee initiates the pre-appointment fingerprint screen through PS. For more information, see IRM 10.23.2, Personnel Security, Contractor Investigations, Advisory Committees.

Based on a Memorandum of Understanding between PS and the Art Advisory Panel, PS will provide investigative services for screening Art Advisory Panel applicants for the FBI criminal history fingerprint check and the FBI subversive name check. PS will notify Appeals if the appointee is acceptable or needs further investigation. If acceptable, fingerprint results are received within five to seven days.

The servicing HCO, TA, EO for Appeals is responsible for the following:

The HCO, TA, PEO is responsible for:

The designated HCO, TA, EO is responsible for sponsoring and adjudicating experts and consultants in USAccess via HR Connect PDS (Personal Identity Verification Data Synchronization). An e-mail notification will be sent after the sponsorship is completed via USAccess to the expert/consultant to schedule the required appointment at a USAccess enrollment station.

The designated FMSS Enrollment site is responsible for the following: