IRS or Waffle House? Hot Market Fuels Struggle to Fill Key Roles

IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig got a wake-up call about the state of the IRS workforce at an unlikely place: a Waffle House he stopped in during a visit to see his son at Fort Benning, Ga.

Rettig noticed a sign advertising positions starting at $15 an hour. The reality dawned on him that the diner chain pays its entry-level staff more than the IRS was offering some of its front-line workers very recently.

“Do you know that prior to the executive order a few months back we were paying $14.57 for the privilege to come on board and serve ...