Mich. Admin. Code R 205.1002 — Standards for treatment of public by department employees and

representatives.

Rule 2. (1) The department, department employees, and department representatives
shall treat the public in a fair and courteous manner. A department employ ee, 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 one’s position or knowledge of department
procedures or access to confi dential 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 person’s
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 state ments 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 employee’s, or department representative’s, 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 employee’s, or department
representative’s, official position or on confidential information gained by reason of the
employee’s, or department representative’s, position.
(j) An employee’s, or department representative’s, failure to report to the
employee’s, or department representative ’s, supervisor or the supervisor’s 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 employee’s, or department represent ative’s, failure to report to the
employee’s, or department representative’s, supervisor or the supervisor’s supervisor a
taxpayer’s complaint about the employee , another employee , or department
representative, or the employee’s, or department representati ve’s, failure to report to the
employee’s or department representative’s, supervisor or the supervisor’s supervisor a
possible interference in a taxpayer’s attempts to discuss matters with a management
person.
(l) The falsification of reports or other r ecords 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 dur ing 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 taxpayer’s 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 th e 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 taxpayer’s property, rules, business practices, and
hours and shall obtain permission to use the taxpayer’s 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 supervisor’s
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 department’s taxpayer advocate office.
(5) The departme nt, 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 department’s
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.