Section R. 205.1002 - Standards for treatment of public by department employees and representativesRule 2.
( 1) The department, department employees, and department representatives shall treat the public in a fair and courteous manner. A department employee, or department representative, that has direct contact with the public in the course of his or her duties shall perform his or her duties in a businesslike manner.( 2) A department employee, or department representative, shall not engage in improper conduct in interactions with the public and shall strive to avoid the appearance of impropriety. The following are examples of improper conduct: (a) The use, or appearance of use, of ones position or knowledge of department procedures or access to confidential information to intentionally harass or personally benefit from another person or grant privileges to another person.(b) Conduct, the natural consequence of which is to oppress or abuse another person.(c) The use, or threat of use, of violence or other criminal means to harm a persons physical integrity, reputation, or property.(d) The use of profane or offensive language.(e) Name-calling of a derogatory nature.(f) Soliciting raffle tickets during work hours for a charity.(g) The acceptance of, or an agreement to accept, a gift or anything of value from a person that could reasonably be expected to influence the manner in which an employee or department representative performs work or makes decisions.(h) The making of false statements or statements with false implications in the course of collecting debts, such as falsely implying that the employee or department representative is an attorney, using a false name, or falsely implying that the taxpayer has committed a crime.(i) An employees, or department representatives, participation in any business transaction or private arrangement for direct or indirect financial gain or deferment or discount of payment that accrues from or is based upon the employees, or department representatives, official position or on confidential information gained by reason of the employees, or department representatives, position.(j) An employees, or department representatives, failure to report to the employees, or department representatives, supervisor or the supervisors supervisor appearances of a possible conflict of interest in relation to taxpayers with whom the employee or department representative may have direct or indirect involvement.(k) The employees, or department representatives, failure to report to the employees, or department representatives, supervisor or the supervisors supervisor a taxpayers complaint about the employee, another employee, or department representative, or the employees, or department representatives, failure to report to the employees or department representatives, supervisor or the supervisors supervisor a possible interference in a taxpayers attempts to discuss matters with a management person.(l) The falsification of reports or other records of contacts or attempts to contact or personally serve taxpayers with any notice or the falsification of other work activities.(m) Other conduct that may be subject to disciplinary action.( 3) An employee, or department representative, shall perform his or her duties at the following times and places:(a) For collection purposes, the department, and its representatives, shall observe the following rules with respect to taxpayers, but not third parties: (i) Taxpayers may be contacted only during the day after 8 a.m. and before 9 p.m., local time, except with prior supervisory approvals based upon the following: (A) The taxpayer has noncustomary working hours and has expressed to the department, or its representative, that he or she wishes to be contacted at a different time of the day.(B) On a case-by-case basis for activities authorized under the act, such as those related to jeopardy assessment accounts, seizures that require earlier contact to make personal service, or similar activities.(ii) Except as provided by the following and unless otherwise agreed to by the department, or its representative, and the taxpayer, in the absence of knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, the department, or its representative, shall presume that a convenient place for communicating with the taxpayer is the location of the taxpayer or, if the taxpayer is represented and the department, or its representative, has been properly notified of the representation, the location of the taxpayer representative, for example, the address of record: (A) The department, or its representative, shall not communicate with the taxpayer regarding the collection of a debt at any time or place known, or which should be known, to be inconvenient to the taxpayer.(B) A department employee, or department representative, shall not contact a taxpayer at his or her place of employment if the employee, or department representative, knows or has reason to know that the taxpayers employer prohibits the taxpayer from receiving the communication.(C) If a taxpayer representative does not respond to a communication from the department, or its representative, then a department employee, or department representative, shall refer the matter to his or her immediate supervisor and shall refrain from contacting the taxpayer representative until further instructions are provided.(b) For audit purposes, the department, and its representatives, shall observe the following rules with respect to taxpayers: (i) Auditors shall keep the work hours as established by the taxpayer, shall limit lunchtime to not more than an hour, and shall leave the taxpayer at the established time.(ii) Auditors shall respect the taxpayers property, rules, business practices, and hours and shall obtain permission to use the taxpayers equipment, such as the telephone or copying machine.(c) For all other purposes, the department, and its representative, shall contact taxpayers during regular working hours unless otherwise agreed to by the taxpayer.( 4) The department, and its representatives, shall have a system for monitoring compliance with the standards of fair and courteous treatment of the public. The system shall provide for aggrieved persons to complain to the immediate supervisor of the employee, or department representative, who acts improperly, or to the supervisors supervisor; for the department, or its representative, to discipline the employee, or department representative, who acts improperly; and for a taxpayer advocate to respond to complaints from the public. The system for monitoring compliance shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:(a) Each supervisor shall monitor the behavior of employees and department representatives on the telephone and review outgoing correspondence for compliance.(b) The audit confirmation letter that the department, or its representative, sends to the taxpayer to confirm the scheduled audit shall identify by name and telephone number the auditor, the audit supervisor, and the audit manager.(c) The department, or its representative, shall enclose with the audit confirmation letter information about the audit process, which shall also instruct the taxpayer how to contact the departments taxpayer advocate office.( 5) The department, and its representatives, shall not use collection goals or quotas during the conduct of an audit for a tax administered under the act.( 6) The department, and its representatives, in carrying out the departments responsibilities under the act, shall fairly and consistently apply all applicable statutes and rules to all taxpayers.( 7) Department employees, and department representatives, shall satisfactorily complete relevant departmental training before performing collection or auditing procedures.Mich. Admin. Code R. 205.1002
1996 AACS; 2018 MR 9, Eff. 5/11/2018