Annual appropriations law prohibits the use of appropriated funds to employ non-citizens.

Certain groups of non-citizens are not included in this ban such as Ireland, Israel, or the Republic of the Philippines, or nationals of those countries allied with the United States in a current defense effort.

For any work to be performed within the Office of Chief Counsel, immigration law requires Counsel to hire only individuals who are eligible to be employed. All newly appointed employees are required to complete a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, which can be found at http://www.uscis.gov/i-9. The Human Resources Division must check the employees’ documents to verify employment eligibility.

The Office of Chief Counsel will not discriminate against employees by requesting more or different documents than are required in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1990. Acceptable documents are listed on the back of the Form I-9.

In accordance with 8 CFR 274a, the Office of Chief Counsel may only hire an individual who is one of the following:

All references within this subsection will be to calendar days rather than workdays.

Employees at GS 14 and below may be detailed to higher graded positions, or positions with greater promotion potential, in 120-day increments. Prior service during the preceding 12 months under noncompetitive details to higher graded positions or positions with greater promotion potential and under noncompetitive time-limited promotions counts toward the 120-day total.

Except for brief periods, employees should not be detailed to perform work of a higher grade level. Details of more than 120 days to a higher graded position or to a position with greater promotion potential must be made under competitive procedures.

One year is the maximum period allowed for each type of detail within Chief Counsel, i.e., detail to unclassified duties, and to the same, lower, or higher graded positions. All extensions beyond the maximum period allowed for each detail must have prior approval from the Associate Chief Counsel (F&M).

When a detail is expected to last 90 days or longer, the temporary supervisor shall provide elements and standards to the detailed employee. Ratings on the critical elements must be prepared and forwarded to the employee's permanent supervisor for consideration in deriving the employee's next rating of record.

Details of temporary employees are subject to the same time limits and documentation requirements as details of permanent employees.

No employee in the excepted service may be assigned to a position in the competitive service without prior approval of the Associate Chief Counsel (F&M).

Employees detailed to positions GS-14 and below require the following approval:

Employees detailed to GS-15 positions require coordination with the Associate Chief Counsel (F&M) prior to effecting the action.

Employees may be detailed to unclassified duties.

The Associate Chief Counsel (F&M) may approve details between Chief Counsel and the IRS, other Treasury bureaus, and other Federal agencies.

The Deputy Chief Counsel (Operations) or their designee must approve all requests for Senior Executive Service (SES) details.

The General Counsel or Deputy General Counsel of Treasury must approve all details of 240 days or more and all details outside of Chief Counsel.

The Director, Office of Personnel Policy, Treasury, must approve all details over 240 days, and all details over 30 days outside of Chief Counsel, that are not under competitive procedures.

Details to the White House (including the Executive Office of the President) require approval of the Director, Office of Personnel Policy, Treasury.

Requests for details not specifically addressed, such as details to international organizations or foreign governments, will be handled on a case by case basis and should be submitted to the Associate Chief Counsel (F&M) for approval prior to effecting the action. Additional or differing rules than those described above may apply in these cases.

Requests for voluntary reassignments by non-bargaining unit employees, either based on personal hardship or for some other reason, are to be submitted by the employee directly to his/her immediate supervisor with a copy to the management official where he/she wishes to be reassigned. Both the gaining and the losing office must agree before a voluntary reassignment can take place.

Requests for voluntary reassignments will be considered on a case-by-case basis if the employee has concluded at least one year of employment with the Office and the employee’s performance during the initial one year period is fully successful.

The staffing of each office and division of the Office of Chief Counsel is based on, and determined by, the overall needs of the Office. Therefore, decisions regarding requests for voluntary reassignments must take into consideration the staffing requirements of the Office and whether positions and work are available to accommodate the employee’s request and promote the efficiency of the Office.

The needs of the Office and those of the employee will be carefully considered before a decision to grant a request is made.

If the request for reassignment is approved, the gaining office will notify HR that the employee is being voluntarily reassigned. The Human Resources Division will be responsible for coordinating the administrative process required to effect the reassignment.

When a request is approved, it is the gaining office’s responsibility to coordinate the employee’s reporting date with the losing office. Consideration must be given to the losing office’s need for enough time for the employee to complete projects and work assignments before releasing for duty to the gaining office.

Human Resources Division will attach position descriptions to SF 52s for career ladder promotions and actions involving recruitment for a new position.

Managers will forward administratively acceptable documentation on behalf of employees to effect the name change(s) which should include:

Managers will forward work schedule or LWOP requests which should include:

Managers will forward separation notifications which should include:

Human Resources Division will maintain manual or automated tracking systems to monitor the timeliness and quantity of SF 52s received for processing.

Administrative Officers are responsible for keeping records and maintaining control of SF 52s for their organization to assure that the requested action is completed. Automated tracking systems are authorized.

Human Resources Division will use SF 52 to record staffing, classification, and other personnel determinations.

SF 52 actions will generate a SF 50, Notification of Personnel Action, which is the permanent official record and is placed in the employee’s Official Personnel Folder (OPF). The employee's copy and the administrative copy will be forwarded by HR to the employee's Administrative Officer who will review the information for accuracy and forward to the employee.

This subsection establishes policies and responsibilities for position classification and position management in the Office of Chief Counsel. These policies are based on the requirements of:

The Office of Chief Counsel’s position classification program will be operated in a positive-oriented manner, consistent with governing laws, implementing regulations (including new classification standards), and Treasury’s policies and guidance. Position management will be observed in the classification of positions.

Classification determinations will be made objectively and without discrimination for any non-merit reason such as race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, marital, or parental status.

The provisions of this subsection apply to all positions within the Office of Chief Counsel that are classified under the General Schedule (GS), and include any positions that are designated as "GM" because those positions were formerly covered under the Performance Management and Recognition System (PMRS). These provisions exclude SES positions.

The Chief Counsel has overall responsibility for administering the federal position classification and position management programs for the Office. This responsibility is delegated to the Associate Chief Counsel (F&M) for all positions classified under the General Schedule with designated " GS" pay plan and grades 1 through 15.

The Associate Chief Counsel (F&M) is responsible for providing a sound position management program that will ensure the efficient distribution of staff resources by:

A position description (PD) is an official description of the major duties, responsibilities, qualification requirements, and supervisory relationships of a position. A position description reports the duties of a position as the duties exist and does not prescribe the duties of a position.

A position description is not considered to be officially established until it has been properly classified by HR or another official to whom this authority has been delegated.

All position descriptions must be properly classified in accordance with the Classification Act of 1949 and related OPM issuances and documents (e.g., OPM Position Classification Standards) to ensure proper titles, pay plan, occupational series, and grade levels. The position classification standards and supplemental guidance published by OPM and Treasury will serve as the sole basis for classification decisions. The use of OPM standards and guidance is mandatory.

Supervisors and managers have a continuing responsibility to maintain the accuracy of position descriptions under their control. They are also responsible for the review of vacant positions for accuracy prior to their being filled. Not withstanding the above, a position will be reviewed for classification accuracy at the discretion of the Human Resources Division (HR) or at any time a review is requested by the supervisor or incumbent.

Every effort will be made to resolve informally disagreements or misunderstandings involving the classification of positions to avoid the necessity of a formal classification appeal. Therefore, it is the policy of the Office of Chief Counsel to encourage its employees first to attempt to resolve dissatisfactions with the classification of the position of which he/she is officially assigned through their immediate supervisors, and if necessary, the Human Resources Division.

An employee may, at any time, initiate a classification complaint or appeal the title, occupational series, grade or pay system of their position provided that either the complaint or the appeal relates to the official position to which he/she is officially assigned.

Employees have the right to use the classification complaint process or the applicable appeal system as a means to resolve dissatisfactions relating to the classification of the position to which they are assigned. Supervisors and HR will provide the employee(s) and/or the designated representative with the assistance required to properly and effectively comply with all Office of Chief Counsel, Office of General Counsel, Treasury, and OPM policies, regulatory and procedural requirements.

Appraisal Period — The established period of time for which performance will be reviewed and a rating of record prepared.

Critical Element — A component of a position consisting of one or more duties and responsibilities that contributes toward accomplishing organizational goals and objectives and that is of such importance that unacceptable performance in the element would result in overall unacceptable performance in the position.

Non-critical Element — A dimension or aspect of individual, team, or organization performance exclusive of a critical element, that may warrant mention in the evaluation. Non-critical elements are not considered in assigning the overall/summary rating.

Departure Rating — A departure rating is a rating used when an employee temporarily occupies a job or, under certain conditions, leaves one position for another position. Departure ratings will be used when a supervisor prepares an employee’s annual evaluation. A departure rating is only required when an employee: