It looks like IRS employees hoping to be granted a telework exemption due to temporary hardship are going to struggle getting said exemption unless going through severe hardship, the likes of which would make it difficult to work in general and not just in-office.
Federal News Network is reporting that open hardship requests have been abruptly closed without resolution:
The IRS is setting new limits on telework for employees who are facing a variety of temporary hardships.
The agency said in an internal memo Monday that hardship-based requests for full-time telework that employees submitted, but were still awaiting approval, will be “closed,” effective immediately.
The memo, obtained by Federal News Network, cites the Trump administration’s return-to-office mandate for federal employees as the reason for the policy change.
“As a result of return to office, the current hardship program process and approvals will be adjusted to ensure compliance,” the memo states.
The IRS currently allows for up to five telework days per calendar year. Per the federal Office of Personnel Management, telework is distinct from remote work in that telework refers to arrangements where the employee is expected to report to work both at an agency worksite and alternative worksite on a regular and recurring basis each pay period whereas remote work does not include this expectation. We’ve embedded the National Treasury Employees Union’s 2022 National Agreement, which includes specifics on telework policies, below for your reading pleasure (warning: it’s…a lot).
The Trump admin’s January return to in-person work order states specifically:
Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary.
According to some IRS employees who spoke to FNN, past telework accommodations have been granted for things like “employees facing domestic violence or employees who are immunocompromised following organ transplants.”
All’s not lost though. IRS employees can still apply for temporary telework arrangements lasting no longer than 90 days, with <30 day arrangements needing approval from the overlords of human capital and longer requests requiring approval from the chief operating officer (currently that’s Dottie Romo, you can find some discussion on her here).
Are you guys OK over there? This all sounds like a nightmare.
