Purpose: This revised IRM provides policy and guidance for the administration of the IRS PS operations program. Every position within the IRS requires potential employees or incumbent employees undergo a background investigation (BI) conducted by an appropriate government authority based upon the sensitivity of the position, the need for access to classified information, and the requirements of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12).

The investigative requirements must be consistent with the guidance provided by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Any BI, conducted for suitability or security determination purposes constitutes the first step in the process of ensuring the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and security among IRS employees. Suitability reflects the standards required for employment with the government in general, and the IRS in particular, with reference to a person's character, reputation, and overall fitness.

Audience: Unless otherwise indicated, the policies, authorities, procedures, and instructions contained in this IRM apply to all business units. Bargaining unit employees should review negotiated agreement provisions relating to subjects in this IRM. Should any of these instructions conflict with a provision of a negotiated agreement, the agreement prevails.

Policy Owner: Human Capital Office, Policy Office

Program Owner: Human Capital Office (HCO)

Primary Stakeholder: HCO, Office of Human Resource Operations (OHRO), Talent Acquisition (TA), PS, Strategic Recruitment and Hiring Services, and Hiring Operations (HOps).

Contact Information: Personnel Security

For appointees with less than one current continuous year of service, the associate director, PS, has delegated authority to make suitability determinations and propose suitability actions under 5 CFR 731, except for those cases that must be referred to the OPM. (Refer to 5 CFR 731.103 (f)) The director for the Office of Human Resources Operations, Talent Acquisition, will take suitability actions under 5 CFR 731, except for those cases that must be referred to the OPM.

In January 2015, the security and suitability executive agents approved the Quality Assessment Standards (QAS) for background investigations which were distributed to federal agencies to be implemented in 2017. The QAS establishes federal guidelines for assessing the quality of national security and suitability background investigations based on the Federal Investigative Standards (FIS), implemented in December 2012. The establishment of QAS facilitates the measurement and continued improvement of investigative quality across the executive branch.

The QAS are established for background investigations to determine eligibility for:

The QAS also applies to the background investigations of state, local, tribal, and private sector entities as defined in EO 13549.

The QAS will establish how investigative quality will be defined, measured, and assessed. The QAS are not designed to determine if or what adjudicative action will be taken but to support the standardization of background investigations which, in turn, supports uniformity and reciprocity.

The QAS are based on four category assessments that characterizes the investigation as:

When the quality of an investigation is evaluated, it will be assigned one of the four assessment categories outlined above. The only exceptions are the investigations that are assessed as both incomplete and insufficient.

All IRS employees are required to have an initial BI consistent with the position risk and sensitivity level identified by the Position Designation System. The PS office will initiate a BI if the following situations apply:

To determine if an individual meets the above situations, PS must:

To ensure independence of the adjudication and referral process, and to eliminate any appearance of a conflict of interest in the handling of investigative reports conducted on employees of PS and the HCO executives to whom PS directly reports, the following procedures must be effected:

PS will make post-investigation suitability determinations on employees with less than one current continuous year of service, using the specific factors contained in 5 CFR 731.202(b). The PS adjudicators, trained under OPM suitability guidelines, will make determinations based on a person's character and/or conduct that may have an impact on the integrity or efficiency of the IRS.

Per the Treasury Security Manual, TD P 15-71, Chapter 2, Section K, “Security and Suitability Operations,” the IRS will establish and maintain a personnel security file for employees in the following positions:

All contractors are subject to the same requirements as Treasury/IRS employees with a file maintained for contractor personnel covered by the provisions of Chapter 5, Contractor Security, of TD P 15-71 or who require a background investigation to meet the requirements of HSPD-12.

The IRS will not maintain a file on a contract employee granted access to classified information under the National Industrial Security Program (NISP), unless there is a requirement for additional investigation relating to access to Treasury/IRS facilities or automated information systems or access to classified information not covered under the NISP.

Regarding favorable investigations on employees or contractor personnel in low or moderate risk positions, the IRS will retain pertinent investigative data only, such as adverse derogatory information.

All PS files are under the control of the Associate Director, PS.

Per the TD P 15-71, Chapter 2, Section K, when an employee transfers from the Treasury agency office to a bureau or from one Treasury bureau to another, the complete personnel security file, or a copy of it must be transferred from the PS office of the losing bureau to the PS office of the gaining bureau. Exception: when the file of an IRS employee contains tax information, the tax information is not transferred outside the IRS.

Personally identifiable information (PII) in background investigations, records, and operations must be carefully safeguarded to protect the interests of both the individual and the Service, pursuant to requirements of IRM 10.5.4, Privacy and Information Protection, Incident Management Program, and the Privacy Act of 1974. Unless classified at a higher level, personnel security information must be afforded the same degree of protection as material identified as "Controlled Unclassified Information" and must be used only for authorized official purposes. When not in use, personnel security information must be stored in a General Services Administration approved security container or in an equally secure area. All electronic records must be safeguarded in accordance with IRM 10.5.8, Privacy and Information Protection.

Reports containing classified information must be protected per EO 13526, Classified National Security Information and appropriate Treasury regulations.

The PS investigation information requested by the subject of an investigation will be processed according to established procedures under provisions of the Privacy Act or the Freedom of Information Act, as appropriate. Requests for the release of the results of any PS investigation should be referred to the Treasury or non-Treasury agency that conducted it. When another agency requests a copy of a PS report of investigation under the routine use provision of the Privacy Act (5 USC 552a), for the purpose of suitability or for the granting of a security clearance, the request must be made in writing to IRS, Personnel Security, PA Section, 5000 Ellin Road, Room C1-530, Lanham, MD 20706 or by fax to 855-696-0378.