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IRS Rehires Hundreds of Fired Workers Despite Serious Transgressions

Would you rehire a former employee who was fired for misconduct or performance issues and even convicted? If so, you join the Internal Revenue Service which seems more than willing to give a second chance to misbehaving and poorly performing staff.

The IRS rehired 10 percent of former employees who had been terminated or under investigation for a substantiated conduct or performance issue. This federal agency, which was mired in controversy during the Obama Administration for targeting conservative groups with extra scrutiny, failed to fully consider the past conduct and performance of workers looking to be rehired.

Think of a bank teller who steals from the bank one week and then comes back asking for a job the next week. You can choose to ignore their theft, but you do so at your own peril.

Of the nearly 7,500 employees hired from early 2015 to the end of the first quarter of 2016, more than 2,000 of them previously worked for the IRS. However, according to an audit of these hires, about 200 had records that most people would find questionable.

The majority (86) of these employees had ridiculously excessive absences and workplace disruption issues or failed to follow instructions. About a dozen of them provided false employment forms and documents or omitted prior convictions and terminations. Another dozen had tax issues.