By Garry L. / Shutterstock.com

IRS Recalls 10,000 Employees to the Office, But Won't Provide Masks or Gloves

Move comes as tax filing deadline approaches and thousands have been home with pay but not working.

The Internal Revenue Service is recalling 10,000 employees back to their offices to perform “mission-critical work,” though the employees will be on their own to obtain supplies to protect against the spread of the novel coronavirus. 

The agency is bringing employees back from quarantine starting Monday as it prepares for the adjusted 2020 tax filing deadline of July 15. IRS will ask workers to come back on a voluntary basis with incentive pay, though it will subsequently require additional employees to return if a sufficient number of volunteers do not come forward. The employees will correspond with taxpayers, process tax documents, talk to taxpayers over the phone and perform other filing season duties, according to the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents the IRS workforce.

In an email sent to employees on Friday made public by the House Ways and Means Committee, the IRS human capital office said it does not have sufficient personal protective equipment for employees.

“Although the IRS is seeking to procure PPE such as masks and gloves, each IRS facility may not be able to initially procure the PPE for all employees immediately,” it said. “Employees are therefore required to bring personal face coverings for their nose and mouth area when they come to work.” 

The email added that employees will permitted to remove their masks while they are in a cubicle or private office during the work day, but must wear them in common areas. One hundred IRS employees have tested positive for COVID-19, and four have died from coronavirus symptoms, according to figures lawmakers received from the agency. 

IRS said in a statement protecting its employees is its top priority and it will do everything possible to keep them safe while also providing important services to taxpayers.

“Bringing employees back to work is essential to address mission-critical needs for the nation, and the IRS is an essential component to our country’s whole-of-government approach to confronting the COVID-19 pandemic,” the agency said. “To provide American taxpayers, including the most vulnerable, with the services they expect, it is essential that the IRS resumes a number of key responsibilities.”

The 10,000 recalled employees will come from 10 different offices, NTEU President Tony Reardon said. Thousands of IRS employees have been home on paid administrative leave without working for weeks as the agency closed many offices around the country following state stay-at-home orders and an agency-wide evacuation order. Many of those workers remain sidelined, as they still do not have telework capacity. 

One employee who works at a call center in Pittsburgh told Government Executive he has been home since March 20, receiving his normal pay but not working. He volunteered to work remotely but the agency has yet to take him up on that offer. He will not be going back on recall, he said, noting Pennsylvania’s stay home order remains in effect through at least May 8. Instead, he has been working on projects around the house and trying to get outside. 

“There’s always cleaning to do, and then I’m a big hiker,” he said. 

NTEU, meanwhile, is working with IRS to ensure the agency provides employees with the materials and equipment they need to stay safe.

“We are communicating with the IRS about working conditions at those facilities to make sure there are adequate cleaning and disinfecting supplies, accommodations to allow for physical distancing among employees and personal protective equipment, including masks and gloves,” Reardon said. 

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who chairs its panel on oversight, sharply criticized IRS for requiring employees to return to their offices without first securing PPE. 

“It is understandable that in carrying out its mission during a crisis, the agency would require some employees to report back to work during perilous times,” they said. “However, it is completely irresponsible and unethical for the IRS to demand those workers obtain their own protective equipment—this is the responsibility of the federal government to its workers.”

IRS is asking employees to risk their health and that of their families, the lawmakers said. 

Employees who are able to telework will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, NTEU said. The Trump administration released guidance last week instructing agencies to prepare to return employees to their offices, but cautioned they should follow the guidance of local leaders. Agencies are expected to continue allowing telework flexibilities even after they begin bringing some workers back to their offices. 

“Because of the global health crisis, thousands of IRS employees are successfully teleworking,” Reardon said. “There are no immediate plans to pull them from the safety of their homes and NTEU believes they should remain on telework until all state and local stay-at-home orders are lifted and health and safety precautions have been met.”

IRS did not respond by early Monday afternoon to an inquiry into the size of the incentive pay employees will receive or when it will be able to provide protective gear.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.