IRS, Fiscal Service defy judges, terminate union contracts

The IRS and the Bureau of Fiscal Service this week informed employees that they have terminated their collective bargaining agreements with the National Treasury Employees Union, seemingly violating at least the spirit of a federal court order.

The two Treasury Department components were among the many federal agencies named in a pair of executive orders signed last year that cite a seldom-used provision of the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act to strip two-thirds of the federal workforce of its collective bargaining rights.

While many agencies began formally cancelling their union contracts last summer, those with NTEU bargaining units were warned to wait, as a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit predicated a ruling allowing the edicts to take effect upon agencies stopping short of that step.

“To be clear, if a specific agency or subagency deviates from that self-imposed rule [to refrain from formal contract terminations], individual [bargaining] units may seek injunctive relief appropriately tailored to any non-speculative, irreparable harm," the court wrote last May.

In an email to employees obtained by Government Executive, IRS Chief Human Capital Officer Alex Kweskin said the tax agency’s contract with NTEU has been terminated, effective Friday. The Bureau of Fiscal Service informed its union that it would terminate their CBA on Wednesday.

“This change deepens our commitment of operating as One IRS, a collaborative team focused on serving American taxpayers,” he wrote. “Our employees are the strength of our agency, and we will continue to treat everyone with dignity and respect, in alignment with civil service laws and regulations, merit system principles and equal employment opportunity protections. We will continue to foster a workplace grounded in respect, professionalism and service for America.”

In an accompanying FAQ, IRS said employees may no longer select a union official to help represent them in disciplinary or EEO cases—though they can still be represented by non-union officials—but that they no longer have a right to representation for Weingarten investigative meetings. The email also included a warning not to speak with the press unless “explicitly authorized.”

The move comes just two weeks after the Office of Personnel Management issued new guidance encouraging agencies to move forward with contract terminations, which mentioned NTEU by name. OPM initially denied that its aim was to prod agencies into defying court orders, then amended the document to clarify agencies should not disregard judges’ instructions.

Still, the only agencies that have terminated a CBA in the wake of that memo have been those covered by the D.C. circuit stay in NTEU v. Trump. OPM did not respond to a request for comment; in a statement, IRS seemingly confirmed that it acted on OPM's suggestion.

"In compliance with the President's Executive Order 14251, Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs, and subsequent guidance from the Office of Personnel Management, the IRS has now terminated its collective bargaining agreement," the agency said.