This IRM is part of the Servicewide effort to provide IRS Human Resource practitioners with the most current policies and procedures from the HCO, P&A.

Laws: https://uscode.house.gov/

Public Laws: https://www.congress.gov

Regulations: Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at: https://www.ecfr.gov

Other:

The IRS Human Capital Officer is the executive responsible for this IRM and overall Servicewide policy for strategic recruitment.

The HCO, OHRS, P&A is responsible for developing, maintaining, and publishing content in this IRM.

The HCO, OHRO, TA, PEO, and STARS are responsible for recruitment and hiring through the following actions:

All IRS managers are responsible for ensuring government resources are used efficiently and effectively, with a minimum potential for waste, fraud and mismanagement. They must administer procedures covered in this IRM with integrity and in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies.

The terms in this IRM have the following meaning:

The following table provides acronyms contained in this IRM:

The Jobs for Veterans Act, Public Law 107-288, amended 38 USC 4214 by making a major change in the eligibility criteria for obtaining a VRA. Those eligible are:

Veterans claiming eligibility on the basis of service defined in letters b and c above must be in receipt of the appropriate campaign badge, expedition medal, or Armed Forces Service Medal.

In addition to meeting the criteria above, eligible veterans must have been separated with an honorable or general discharge.

Under the eligibility criteria, not all five-point preference eligible veterans are eligible for a VRA appointment.

Under the eligibility criteria, not all VRA veterans are eligible for five-point veterans' preference.

VRA eligible applicants who meet the basic qualification requirements for the position to be filled may be appointed without applying through a job announcement. However, veterans' preference applies in making appointments under the VRA authority. If there are two or more VRA applicants and one or more is eligible for preference, the agency must apply veterans' preference. An agency must consider all VRA applicants on file who are qualified for the position.

A VRA appointee may be promoted, demoted, reassigned, or transferred in the same way as a career employee as defined by 5 CFR 335. As with other competitive service employees, the time-in-grade requirement applies to the promotion of VRA’s. If a VRA eligible employee is qualified for a higher grade, an agency may, at its discretion, give the employee a new VRA appointment at a higher grade up through GS-11 (or equivalent) without regard to time-in-grade.

After two years of satisfactory performance and conduct during continuous service, the VRA appointee must be converted to a career or career-conditional appointment, as appropriate.

Employees who do not meet the criteria for conversion to permanent status must be terminated.

Agencies may make a noncompetitive temporary or term appointment based on an individual's eligibility for VRA appointment. The temporary or term appointment must be at the grades authorized for VRA appointment but is not a VRA appointment itself and does not lead to conversion to career-conditional.

VRA appointees have the appeal rights of excepted service employees. This means that VRA employees who are preference eligible attain full 5 CFR 302.752 adverse action and 5 CFR 302.432 performance action appeal rights after one year of current continuous service in the same or similar position(s). VRA’s who are not preference eligible do not get this protection until they have completed two years of current continuous employment in the same or similar position. In addition, any individual serving under a VRA whose employment under the appointment is terminated within one year after the date of such appointment, has the same right to appeal that termination as a career or career-conditional employee has during the first year of employment.

There are three groups of VRA applicants as follows:

Under certain conditions such as 10 point veteran preference, VRA applicants from outside the federal service and current IRS VRA appointees have the right to reopen competitive examinations that were open for applications from the general public. However, the same VRA eligibles, including those with preference, have no right to "reopen" a closed promotion announcement to apply after the closing date.

5 CFR 302, Subpart B and 5 CFR 307 should be followed to ensure that preference is observed for disabled veterans and other veterans entitled to preference.

Current IRS VRA appointees, like competitive service employees, may apply under an internal merit promotion announcement and are subject to the same requirements.

Current IRS VRA appointees may also apply under an internal merit promotion announcement as a possible VRA-eligible with eligibility to be confirmed by TA in the hiring process.

If the VRA appointee has less than 15 years of formal education as defined by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Service is required to provide a written training program agreement (signed by the veteran) in which the veteran agrees to pursue a training or educational program during the two year employment period. If the VRA appointee has 15 years of formal education or more, they may participate in the same training programs as other employees. A training program could include on-the-job assignments and/or classroom training. To ensure that this requirement is met, a written training or educational plan must be developed.

The written training or educational plan should include definitive long and short-range objectives. Such objectives are necessary to effectively evaluate on-the-job performance and other training participation in the program.

To be eligible for a VEOA appointment, a veteran must be a preference eligible applicant or veteran separated after three or more years of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. Veterans who were released shortly before completing a three-year tour are considered to be initially eligible for VEOA. Active service, defined in Title 37 USC, means active duty in the uniformed services and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance while in active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.

VEOA applicants appointed under the VEOA are subject to a probationary period.

VEOA applicants appointed after December 30, 1999 in the competitive service have the appeal rights of competitive service employees.

Public Law 106-117(511) will be used as the legal authority for any new appointments under the VEOA.

IRS Internal Merit Promotion Vacancy Announcements – Internal merit promotion vacancy announcements, open to IRS or Treasury applicants only, are not required to include application information for VEOA eligibles because the agency is not recruiting outside its own workforce. ("Agency," in this context, means the parent agency Treasury, not the IRS.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) Announcements – Because CTAP is limited to internal agency candidates, there is no requirement to include application information for VEOA eligible applicants.

Merit promotion Vacancy Announcements Open to Status Applicants Outside Treasury – Merit promotion vacancy announcements open to status applicants outside of Treasury must accept applications from VEOA eligibles, wherever they are located. Current federal employees (along with those seeking initial federal employment) with VEOA eligibility can apply for positions opened to status applicants outside of Treasury. VEOA does not exempt VEOA eligible federal employees from eligibility criteria, such as time-in-grade restrictions. In addition to the standard application instructions on www.usajobs.gov, external merit promotion vacancy announcements must include the following VEOA specific language:

Delegated Examining Unit (DEU) Vacancy Announcement – VEOA eligibles applying under a DEU vacancy announcement (competitive examining process) are treated in the same manner as any other DEU applicant and the following applies:

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) Vacancy Announcements – VEOA eligibles may apply for ICTAP announcements. When both ICTAP and VEOA eligible applications are received, the "well qualified" ICTAP applicant receives priority over the VEOA applicant. Once the ICTAP candidate has been cleared, the best qualified VEOA eligible candidate can be considered. Veterans' preference does not apply in the ranking. Announcements must include the following VEOA specific information:

VEOA applications from external merit promotion announcements open to status applicants outside of Treasury must be rated and ranked with status applicants, using the same assessment criteria. No distinction is made. VEOA applicants are referred with status applicants on the same certificate. VEOA eligible applicants referred for consideration are not guaranteed selection.

The VEOA selectee will be given a career or career-conditional appointment. A temporary or term appointment may not be offered.

The Service encourages and supports the utilization of all available resources to employ and advance disabled veterans. The Commissioner periodically emphasizes this policy in memoranda and information notices to employees.

The Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program (DVAAP) program responsibility resides with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). All agencies are required to develop a DVAAP Plan. Treasury's Plan covers all its Bureaus and is published as Appendix B to Chapter 720 of the Treasury Personnel Manual. It provides for local offices to develop local plans as appropriate.

The IRS DVAAP Plan supplements the Treasury’s plan and provides instructions on responsibilities for affirmative actions to be taken by all offices to promote the employment and advancement of disabled veterans. To fully implement their responsibilities, appointing offices may establish and implement local plans.

The following describes the special appointment authority under 5 CFR 315.707 used for hiring disabled veterans, and provides instructions for implementing the Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program (DVAAP).

The Service may offer a noncompetitive temporary appointment of at least 60 days, or a term appointment of more than one year but not more than four years, to any veteran:

There is no grade level limitation for this authority, but the appointee must meet all qualification requirements including any written test requirement.

The employee may be non-competitively converted (without a break in service) to a career or career-conditional appointment at any time during the employee’s temporary or term appointment. The appointment can be full-time, part-time, or intermittent. The initial appointment need not be to the same position as the proposed conversion position.

Disabled veterans eligible for training under the VA vocational rehabilitation program may enroll for training or work experience at an agency under the terms of an agreement between the agency and VA. While enrolled in the VA program, the veteran is not a Federal employee for most purposes, but is a beneficiary of the VA.

Training is tailored to the individual’s needs and goals and may be as long as needed. If the training is intended to prepare the individual for eventual appointment in the agency and not only to provide work experience, the agency must also ensure that the training will enable the veteran to meet the qualification requirements for the position.

Upon successful completion, the host agency and VA issues the veteran a Certificate of Training showing the occupational series and grade level of the position for which trained. The Certificate of Training allows any agency to appoint the veteran noncompetitively under a status quo appointment that may be converted to career or career-conditional at any time.

Reasonable accommodation assistance, if needed, may be coordinated by the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity.

Current IRS employees who perform active military duty are able to leave their employment temporarily with the knowledge that their affairs are in order and their rights are protected. Federal law provides many important rights and benefits, as required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).

The following addresses rights, benefits, and processing instructions for employees who leave their jobs to serve on active duty, either on a voluntary or involuntary basis, in a uniformed service. This includes, but is not limited to, active duty, active duty training, initial active duty training, inactive duty training, full-time National Guard duty and a period that a person is absent from employment for the purpose of examination to determine fitness for duty.

Guidance on Military Service while also a federal employee can be found on OPM’s Military Service Site at: https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/reference-materials/reference/military-service/

Before an employee leaves for military duty, he or she must be advised of his or her restoration rights, the process to exercise those rights, the time limitations, employee benefits, appeal rights, and any other obligations. A sample letter is shown in Exhibit 6.307.1-1.

Employees are not harmed when they leave their employment temporarily to perform active military duty. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) generally requires the employee be placed on Leave Without Pay (LWOP) when entering the military, unless they choose to be placed on military leave or annual leave, as appropriate, or the employee requests to be separated. The Department of Labor, Veterans' Employment and Training Service, has issued comprehensive guidance as mandated by USERRA. This document has been posted in the Federal Register and can be found at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/userra

See IRM 6.630.1, IRS Absence and Leave, for additional guidance on absence and leave.

Permanent or temporary federal employee. Federal employees who are called to active duty (or volunteer for active duty) are entitled to the rights and benefits contained in this subsection.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). EAPs can be very helpful to employees and their families in coping with the stress and disruption associated with a call to active military duty. EAPs provide short-term counseling and referral services to help with financial, emotional, and dependent care problems. These services are available to employees who are family members of those who are performing active military duty. In addition, many EAPs offer services to family members of employees.

Pay. Employees performing active military duty receive compensation from the Armed Forces in accordance with the terms and conditions of their military enlistment or commission. They do not receive any compensation from their civilian-employing agency unless they elect to use military leave or annual leave as described in paragraphs five and eight, below. Agencies should continue the payment of availability pay for criminal investigators and annual premium pay for administratively uncontrollable overtime work, or regularly scheduled standby duty, on days of military leave or annual leave.

Military Leave. Employees who perform active military duty may request paid military leave, as specified in 5 USC 6323(a). Under the law, an eligible full-time employee accrues 15 days (120 hours) of military leave each fiscal year. In addition, an employee may carry over up to 15 days (120 hours) of unused military leave from one fiscal year to the next. When the 15 days of military leave that are carried over are combined with the 15 days of military leave accrued at the beginning of the new fiscal year, this produces a maximum military leave benefit of 30 days in a fiscal year. These extra days of carry over military leave must be used in the new fiscal year to avoid forfeiting since an employee cannot carry over more than 15 calendar days to the next fiscal year. Part-time career employees accrue military leave on a prorated basis. Employees who elect to use military leave will receive full compensation from their civilian position for each hour charged to military leave, in addition to their military pay for the same period. Military leave can only be charged for hours the employee would have worked and does not apply to weekends and other non-workdays. Additional information on charging military leave can be found on the OPM website at: https://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/html/MILITARY.asp. Employees who perform active military duty may be granted an additional 22 days of military leave under 5 USC 6323(b) for emergency duty as ordered by the President, Secretary of Defense, or a State Governor. This leave is granted for the purpose of providing military duty in support of civil authorities in the protection of life and property or who perform full-time military service as a result of a call or order to active duty in support of a contingency operation as defined in 10 USC 101(a)(13).

Annual Leave. Employees who perform active military duty may request the use of their personally accrued annual leave balance (under 5 USC 6303 and 6304), and such requests must be granted by the agency. Requests for advanced annual leave may be granted at the agency’s discretion. In addition to their military pay, employees who use annual leave will receive compensation from their civilian position for all hours charged to annual leave for the same period.

LWOP. USERRA generally requires an agency to place an employee reporting for uniformed service on LWOP unless the employee chooses to be placed on military leave or annual leave, as appropriate, or the employee requests to be separated. Full-time employees do not earn annual or sick leave in a pay period in which they have accumulated 80 hours of LWOP. In addition, part-time employees on LWOP also earn less annual and sick leave, since they earn leave based on the number of hours in a pay status.

Lump-Sum Leave Payments. Employees who enter into active military duty may choose to have their annual leave balance maintained until they return to their civilian position or they may receive a lump-sum payment for all accrued and accumulated annual leave. However, an agency must make a lump-sum payment for any restored annual leave under 5 USC 6304(d). There is no requirement to separate from a civilian position in order to receive a lump-sum leave payment under 5 USC 5552.

Health Benefits. Employees who are absent from duty due to service in the uniformed services (active duty or active duty for training beyond 30 days) may elect to have their health insurance coverage continue for up to 24 months, and the employee continues to pay their share of the premium. Employees who remain in the uniformed services beyond 12 months may continue their health insurance for an additional 12 months by paying 102 percent of the premium, composed of: the employee’s share, the Government’s share, and a two percent administrative fee. Employees are entitled to a free 31-day extension of coverage during which they can convert to a non-group policy. These employees are not eligible for TCC (Temporary Continuation of Coverage). If an employee does not wish to continue the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage while he/she is in nonpay status, the employee can elect in writing to have the FEHB coverage terminated (the employee is still entitled to the free 31-day extension and the right to convert).

When an employee who has been on military duty returns to active Federal Service, he or she can enroll in a FEHB plan within 60 days of the return to service, (as long as the position is not excluded from coverage).

Life Insurance. Employees who are put in a nonpay status while on military duty can keep their Federal Employee’s Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) coverage for up to 12 months. This coverage is free. At the end of 12 months in nonpay status, the coverage terminates. If the employee separates from Federal civilian service, FEGLI coverage continues for up to 12 months or 90 days after uniformed service ends, whichever is sooner. Employees who enter on active duty or active duty for training in one of the uniformed services for more than 30 days can elect to continue their FEGLI coverage for an additional 12 months, for a total of 24 months. These employees must pay both the employee and agency share of premiums for their Basic coverage and pay the entire cost (there is no agency share) for any Optional insurance for the additional 12 months of coverage. For employees who elect to continue FEGLI coverage for the additional 12-month period, FEGLI coverage terminates at the end of the 24-month period or 90 days after military service ends, whichever comes first. For employees who elect to not continue FEGLI coverage for the additional 12-month period, FEGLI coverage terminates at the end of the original 12-month period or 90 days after military service ends, whichever comes first.

Federal employees with FEGLI who are called to active duty retain and have the same entitlements; death benefits are payable to the employee’s beneficiaries. Accidental death and dismemberment benefits are also payable under Basic insurance (and Option A, if the employee had that coverage) unless the employee was in actual combat at the time. Accidental death benefits are in addition to regular death benefits. Even if accidental death benefits are not payable, regular death benefits are payable.

When an employee who has been on military duty returns to active Federal Service, the employee resumes the same life insurance they had before going into nonpay status (as long as the position is not excluded from coverage).

When an employee’s FEGLI coverage terminates, the employee receives a free 31 day temporary extension of coverage to allow the employee to find new life insurance.

Retirement. An employee who is placed in a LWOP status while performing active military duty continues to be covered by either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Death benefits will be paid as if he or she were still in the civilian position. If the employee becomes disabled for his or her civilian position during the LWOP period and has the minimum amount of civilian service necessary for disability benefits (five years for CSRS, 18 months for FERS), the employee will become entitled to disability benefits under the retirement law. Upon eventual retirement from civilian service, the period of military service is creditable under either CSRS or FERS, subject to the rules for crediting military service.

If an employee separates to enter active military duty, he or she generally will receive retirement credit for the period of separation when the employee exercises restoration rights to his or her civilian position. If the separated employee does not exercise the restoration right, but later reenters Federal civilian service, the military service may be credited under the retirement system, subject to the rules governing credit for military service. However, if an employee covered by CSRS is separated to enter active military duty during a period of war or national emergency (as declared by Congress or proclaimed by the President), the employee is deemed not to be separated from his or her civilian position for retirement purposes (unless the employee applies for and receives a refund of their retirement deductions).

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Federal civilian personnel who are also in the military may contribute to TSP up to the maximum allowable contribution, both as a member of the uniformed service and as a Federal civilian employee. Enrollment into a uniformed service TSP account must be done through the uniformed services’ personnel office. The uniformed service account will be maintained separately from the civilian account, and contributions to the uniformed service account can only be made from uniformed service pay. Similarly, contributions to the civilian account can only be made from civil service compensation. Once separated from either the uniformed service or Federal civilian service, TSP accounts can be combined. Specific information on the TSP rules governing uniformed service can be found at: www.tsp.gov. Additional provisions may apply to employees covered under USERRA such as: the ability to make up missed TSP contributions, entitlement to 1% agency matching contributions, and the ability to pause TSP loan repayment. More information is available on these provisions at: www.tsp.gov.

Return to Civilian Duty. An employee who enters active military duty (voluntary or involuntary) from any position, including a temporary position, has full job protection (as covered under USERRA) provided they apply for reemployment. The following time limits and stipulations apply to USERRA:

Appeal Rights. An employee or former employee of an agency in the executive branch who is entitled to restoration in connection with military duty may appeal an agency’s failure to properly carry out the law with the Department of Labor (DOL). Alternatively, the employee can appeal directly to MSPB if they chose not to file with the DOL or they are informed by either DOL or the Office of the Special Counsel that they will not pursue to the case. Further information and applicable time limits are contained in the USERRA appeals regulations in 38 USC 4323 and 5 CFR 1208.