Pursuant to 5 USC 7901, Federal agencies have the authority to establish health services for the promotion and maintenance of the physical and mental fitness of employees in the federal government.

The IRS recognizes the importance of its employees and realizes employees may experience a wide range of issues impacting their work-life balance, families, health and wellness, or job performance. The IRS offers resources for its employees, including the EAP and WLRS. The EAP is voluntary. Employees may freely use the EAP for access to resources, confidential counseling, health coaches, and legal and financial services.

This IRM provides policy and guidance on the EAP and WLRS including available services, administrative leave and other leave for counseling and services, privacy, records and confidentiality, disclosure, referrals to EAP, and on the IRS DFWP and DVSAS.

Laws:

Public Laws:

Executive Order 12564, Drug-Free Federal Workplace, requires agencies to establish drug-free federal workplace programs, including an EAP as an essential element in achieving a drug-free workplace.

Presidential Memoranda:

Regulations:

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Memorandum CPM 2024-11, Maximizing Access to Leave to Seek Safety and Recover from Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking, and Related Forms of Abuse or Harassment (Safe Leave)

OPM Fact Sheet: Time Off for Safe Leave Purposes

OPM and Department of Health and Human Services Handbook, The Employee Health Services Handbook’s Chapter on Administering Employee Assistance Programs

Treasury Memorandum for Bureau HR Officers, Maximizing Access to Safe Leave

Treasury Human Capital Issuance System (HCIS):

The IRS Human Capital Officer is the executive responsible for this IRM and overall Servicewide policy for work-life and employee wellness programs.

The HCO, OHRST, TPE, PO is responsible for updating, maintaining and publishing content for this IRM.

The HCO, OHRO, HRSS, Benefits Services Division, Benefits and Health Services Center (program office) is responsible for the operation and administration of Servicewide work-life and wellness programs, including the EAP and WLRS, DFWP, and DVSAS. The program office develops materials to increase Servicewide understanding, and it collaborates with stakeholders to support education and outreach activities. In addition, the program office is responsible for:

The HCO, OHRO, Labor/Employee Relations and Negotiations (LERN) provides guidance and representation to managers in areas such as grievances and corrective action (e.g., discipline, performance issues) and contractual obligations with the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). LERN assists managers with the complex challenges of balancing employees’ needs for flexibility in their work lives with the IRS’s need to accomplish its mission.

The program office gauges the effectiveness of the EAP and WLRS, DFWP, and DVSAS based on feedback from customers and stakeholders and considers the impact of any statutory or regulatory changes. During review and publishing, in partnership with HCO, OHRST, TPE, PO, IRM sections are revised, added or deleted based in part on this process.

Program Reports: Monthly reports from the external EAP service provider are located on the program office SharePoint site.

Program Effectiveness: Program goals are measured using results from EAP, DFWP and DVSAS webinar event surveys, and analysis of the external EAP service provider reports.

Reviews: Reviews are conducted on-site or virtually at the external EAP service provider’s location and selected IRS on-site counselor locations. These reviews are performed to determine program effectiveness. The review requirements are subject to revisions as EAP and WLRS parameters are amended periodically and as the IRS procedures are changed. Refer to IRM 6.800.3.1.5, Program Controls, below for more information.

It is important to continuously assess and evaluate all work-life programs to ensure IRS programs offer the desired effects and outcomes. Assessments of these programs help leadership:

The PO is responsible for reviewing policies to ensure conformance with applicable laws and regulations.

The program office is responsible for implementing, monitoring and improving internal controls which are programs, policies and procedures that ensure:

Annual program review requirements include the program office:

The following activities ensure program success:

Administrative Leave − Leave without a loss of or reduction in: 1) pay, 2) leave to which an employee is otherwise entitled under law, or 3) credit for time or service; and that is not authorized under any other provision of law. Refer to IRM 6.630.4, Administrative Leave, Investigative Leave, Notice Leave, and Weather and Safety Leave, and IRM 6.610.1, IRS Hours of Duty, for more information.

Alcohol/Drug Abuse − The excessive use of alcohol or drugs in a manner that may impair a person's physical, mental, emotional, interpersonal, occupational and economic functioning.

Assessment − An ongoing process or evaluation in which professional expertise and skills are exercised to collect and analyze data that, in cooperation with the client, results in identifying, defining and prioritizing the client’s physical, mental, and social issues or challenges. An assessment provides for an accurate diagnosis of the client and the basis for a treatment or issue solving plan.

Client − An individual who is eligible to receive EAP services. A client includes the employee, a retiree or a separated employee (who meets the requirements of IRM 6.800.3.2.1 (2)), or their immediate family members.

Community Resources − Organizations such as treatment and rehabilitation facilities and programs that exist in the community, such as Alcoholics Anonymous and other self-help groups.

Critical Incident − An event, usually sudden, unexpected and potentially life-threatening, in which a person experiences a trauma or feels overwhelmed by a sense of personal vulnerability and/or lack of control. Examples include a natural disaster, serious workplace accident, a hostage situation or violence in the workplace.

Critical Incident Debriefing − A meeting or series of meetings held with a workgroup following a critical incident.

Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) − A group of services or activities that may be used by an organization to respond to and manage a critical incident. Services include, but are not limited to, debriefs, outreach to the workforce and anniversary responses.

Dating Violence − Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of romantic or intimate nature with the victim and where the existence of such a relationship is determined by the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.

Domestic Violence − The use or attempted use of physical abuse or sexual abuse, or a pattern of any other coercive behavior, including acts or threatened acts, committed, enabled, or solicited to gain or maintain power and control over a victim, including verbal, emotional, psychological, economic or technological abuse that may or may not constitute criminal behavior, by a person who:

Drug Free Workplace Program (DFWP) − The laws, regulations and policies stemming from Executive Order (EO) 12564 dated September 15, 1986, and subsequently the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988, that ordered federal employees to refrain from using illegal drugs, whether on or off duty. It mandates that the head of each Executive agency shall develop a plan for achieving the objective of a drug-free workplace. Elements of the plan shall include:

Economic Abuse − Behavior that is coercive, deceptive, or unreasonably controls or restrains a person’s ability to acquire, use or maintain economic resources to which he or she is entitled, including using coercion, fraud or manipulation to:

Emotional/Behavioral Issues − Issues, such as financial, family or marital difficulties that may have an adverse impact on employee performance, conduct or reliability. For example, financial or marital difficulties, psychiatric or physical illnesses, drug and/or alcohol abuse, death of a family member, and those stemming from personal interactions with another person, such as a manager, co-worker or spouse.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) − An EAP is a worksite-based program designed to assist in the identification and resolution of work-related and non-work-related issues associated with employees impaired by personal concerns including, but not limited to, health, marital, family, financial, alcohol, drug, legal, emotional or other personal concerns which may adversely affect their job performance.

External EAP Service Provider − A company external to the IRS providing EAP services on a contractual basis.

Immediate Family Member − Any member of the employee’s immediate household who is a dependent and/or spouse/domestic partner who shares financial and family caretaking responsibilities.

Presenting Issues − The personal concern or issue as described by the EAP client prior to assessment by the EAP professional.

Release of Information − A document signed and dated by a client, giving the EAP permission to release specific information about the client, to a person outside of the EAP.

Safe Harbor − A self-referral option that allows any employee to step forward and identify themselves as an illegal drug user for the purpose of entering a drug treatment program under the EAP. Safe Harbor allows employees to seek rehabilitative assistance from the EAP in accordance with Executive Order 12564, Drug Free Federal Workplace, prior to being identified through other means.

Safe Leave − An umbrella term that captures all types of existing, authorized IRS leave and paid time off that may be used for qualifying safe leave purposes for an employee or for an employee to assist a family member.

Session − A meeting between an EAP counselor and client, usually lasting 45 to 60 minutes.

Sexual Assault − Any nonconsensual sexual act, completed or attempted, or abusive sexual contact, including when the victim lacks capacity to consent.

Stalking − Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to:

Technological Abuse − An act or pattern of behavior that is intended to harm, threaten, intimidate, control, stalk, harass, impersonate, exploit, extort or monitor, except as otherwise permitted by law, another person, that occurs using any form of technology, including but not limited to: internet enabled devices, online spaces and platforms, computers, mobile devices, cameras and imaging programs, apps, location tracking devices, or communication technologies, or any other emerging technologies.

Work-life − Consists of practices, policies and programs that support the efforts of everyone in the workforce to achieve success at work and at home.

This table lists commonly used acronyms and their definitions:

The IRS Source, EAP webpage

The EAP SharePoint webpage

The IRS Source, EAP and WLRS Program contacts, including Law Enforcement Employee Access and Access Numbers for Overseas Employees

The Office of Personnel Management Federal Employee Assistance Programs: Guiding Principles, Framework and Definitions

The IRS Source, DFWP webpage

The IRS DFWP Plan

The IRS Source, DVSAS webpage

The IRS Source, Safe Leave webpage

The IRS Source, Report Threats and Assaults

All IRS employees and their immediate family members (members of the immediate household who are dependents and/or spouses/domestic partners who share financial and family caretaking responsibilities) are eligible for the IRS EAP and WLRS.

IRS employees who separate (e.g., retirement, voluntary separation, involuntary separation) from the IRS are also eligible for six months of coverage from the date of separation. EAP and WLRS can offer additional assistance when employees separate because of agency technology, restructuring and workforce initiatives.

EAP:

WLRS:

The EAP is available to clients 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year.

Clients may meet in person with a counselor (if at a campus) or in their community, over the telephone, or virtually. Virtual or telephonic sessions may be conducted from home or an alternate location, or the office (where appropriate for privacy).

The EAP can help address a variety of concerns, e.g.:

WLRS help clients find solutions to the daily challenges of personal, work and family life. The program provides information and referrals to assist with life events of all kinds. For concerns ranging from workplace stress to caring for a young child or an elderly relative, clients have access to a wide variety of resources to help manage their work-life balance.

Work-life consultants address a variety of concerns, including family issues, such as:

Confidential access to legal professionals dedicated to providing practical, understandable information is available to assist clients in resolving legal issues, including:

Financial professionals are also available to discuss concerns and provide clients with the tools and information needed to meet financial goals. Clients may consult with financial specialists about personal money management questions and receive the information needed to make the best decisions on issues, such as:

Employees can find expert information, resources and referrals on behavioral health, dependent care, and legal or financial matters on the external EAP service provider’s website that is posted on the IRS Source, EAP webpage.

The program office in partnership with the external EAP service provider offer formal and informal orientation and educational services (e.g., employee orientations, webinars, workshops, brown bag lunches, support groups, manager training, union briefings, and wellness and educational sessions) that encourage referral to the program. Specific options include:

Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) services are available to work groups affected by a critical incident. Examples of critical incidents include deaths, serious injuries, incidents involving children or coworkers, personal assaults, or workplace accidents.

Call 911 and the nearest available law enforcement/security for imminent threats or active emergencies. Instructions to report incidents to the Situational Awareness Management Center (SAMC) and for managers to report the death of an employee can be found on the IRS Source, EAP, Critical Situations in the Workplace webpage.

EAP specialists help managers develop an action plan to respond to a specific incident. This can include on-site critical incident debriefings as well as counseling services. Managers should contact the EAP directly to arrange for CISM services. Contact information is found on the IRS Source, EAP, Critical Situations in the Workplace webpage.

For less urgent matters (e.g., counseling post-CISM incident), managers may contact the EAP directly or they may submit an IRS Service Central (IRWorks) ticket by following the instructions located on the IRS Source, EAP webpage.

EAP transition counseling services provide support to employees impacted by reduction in force (RIF), technology and organizational changes.

Transition counselors are available for formal meetings/briefings to assist managers and employees as needed. Managers may request transition counseling services by contacting the EAP directly.

Except when disclosure without consent is allowed (refer to IRM 6.800.3.7.2), the client’s written consent must be obtained before any release of information can be made. This applies to all releases, including those to managers, treatment facilities and family members, without regard to the type of issue the individual is experiencing. Employees should use Form 15293, Consent for Disclosure of Non-Tax IRS Records Protected Under the Privacy Act, to authorize the EAP to disclose information. In section III of the form, employees may include other personal information to be disclosed, including date of initial appointment, treatment recommendations, compliance/non-compliance with recommendations, and completion of treatment recommendations.

There are also times when the EAP must obtain confidential information from other sources. Use Form 15293, Consent for Disclosure of Non-Tax IRS Records Protected Under the Privacy Act, to authorize a person or organization to disclose confidential information to the EAP.

Disclosure without consent is only permissible in a few specific instances, such as:

In certain situations, information provided to the EAP is not protected by the confidentiality regulations and policies and, due to the nature of the information, must be reported to the appropriate authorities. The situations are:

In some cases, employees are referred to the EAP by managers because of work performance and/or conduct issues. Except as discussed above, no information will be released to managers without the employee’s written consent, regardless of the nature of the referral.

Employees are not compelled to release personal and/or health information to managers. When they choose to do so, they will sign a consent form allowing the release of such information. When consent is given to disclose the information to managers, the EAP will usually limit its discussion to:

There may be instances when an employee may wish to sign a release of information, e.g., when an employee is seeking accommodation for a certain physical or emotional issue or as part of a last chance agreement (an agreement that gives employees a final chance to be retained in service). Refer to IRM 6.752.1, Non-disciplinary, Disciplinary, and Adverse Actions, for more information. Another example might be when an employee is involved in a potential disciplinary situation and wishes to demonstrate their sincerity in seeking assistance with the issue.

As with all other releases of information, the EAP requires the employee's written consent to share any information with other programs or organizations including human resources, labor relations and union representatives.

Any information disclosed with the employee's consent must be accompanied by a statement from the external EAP service provider that prohibits further disclosure, unless the consent expressly permits further disclosures. It shall be attached to any written information released or sent separately if the information was released orally.

Any employee identified to be using illegal drugs or with a positive drug test must be referred to the EAP by the manager in accordance with Executive Order 12564, Drug Free Federal Workplace. This type of referral is in writing in a memo addressed to the EAP. The referral memo is sent to the DFWP Program Office to forward to the external EAP service provider and counselor. While this referral to the EAP is mandatory, there is no authority or requirement to compel an employee to partake of EAP services, which are voluntary. Failure to do so, however, may have consequences for the employee. Employees use the IRS DFWP Authorization Form to authorize the EAP to disclose information. This form is provided to the employee’s manager from the DFWP.

The EAP is administered separately from the drug testing program and is available to all employees without regard to a finding of drug use. The EAP provides counseling or referral for rehabilitation, as well as education and training regarding illegal drug use. The EAP is available to employees and their immediate family members who have drug issues.

Employees may also self-identify as illegal drug users to management under the Safe Harbor provision in the IRS DFWP Plan. This provision protects employees from disciplinary actions that may otherwise be taken against employees found to be using drugs illegally. These employees must:

The Safe Harbor provision cannot protect employees from disciplinary actions or random testing if they refuse to notify their managers that they are seeking help for their drug issues. It also cannot protect employees who have been found to use drugs illegally a second time.

The EAP is not responsible for the implementation or operation of the drug testing program but will provide counseling and assistance in dealing with drug issues. For more information regarding drug testing, refer to the DFWP IRS Source webpage.

The IRS is committed to protecting the safety of its employees and supporting them as they go about rebuilding their lives after abusive or harassing events. Employees threatened by DVSAS or related forms of abuse or harassment may request “safe leave” (i.e., existing IRS leave and paid time-off options) to engage in qualifying activities, for themselves or to assist a family member such as the following:

Safe leave includes:

Employees may request a new or change to their alternative work schedule (AWS). Refer to IRM 6.610.1, IRS Hours of Duty, for AWS options, eligibility and request procedures. BU employees should refer to Article 23 of the National Agreement.

In certain cases, telework can be a key part of a safety plan. Refer to IRM 6.800.2, IRS Telework Program, and for BU employees, Article 50 of the National Agreement for more information.

An assignment to place an employee in a different official duty station (post of duty), to ensure their safety, may also be considered. Refer to the IRS Source Hardship Program webpage.