IRS solidifies relationship with management group

The IRS and the Professional Managers Association, a national membership association for managers and other non-bargaining unit employees of the tax agency, announced a finalized consultative agreement on Tuesday.

"PMA has been an important partner for the IRS and plays an important role providing a voice for managers," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig in a statement. "We appreciate their input on important tax administration matters and helping us serve the nation's taxpayers."

The agreement gives the two parties a formalized way to exchange information, establish policies and collaborate to improve operations and personnel management at IRS.

This is the first formal deal between IRS and the PMA.

"Beginning in 2020, PMA began to reestablish itself and reintroduce itself within the IRS and we view this agreement as a culmination of the relationship building we've been able to accomplish working side-by-side throughout the pandemic," Chad Hooper, executive director of the PMA, told FCW.

In a press release statement, Hooper said "the consultative agreement establishes a framework for regularly consulting and communicating with management teams to ensure the success of IRS processes," adding that the deal solidifies "a consistent, collaborative partnership to ensure the IRS is best able to carry out its important mission."

In the announcement of the change, Hooper stressed that "non-bargaining unit employees are too frequently the missing link in agency conversations."

In this agreement IRS agreed to keep supervisors and managers in the loop when it comes to decision-making and executive-level decisions.

Recently, PMA has been vocal about the role of managers in executing President Joe Biden's vaccine policies for federal employees. PMA, along with other executive and management associations in the Government Managers Coalition, had said that site managers weren't equipped or trained to lay down a testing or screening protocol. The administration subsequently pivoted away from a scheme offering regular testing as an alternative to a vaccine to a mandate for all feds.