IRS Workers Are Not Reporting To Work Due To Government Shutdown, Tax Return Delays Are Expected

Before you start making plans for your tax refund, make sure you take into account that you may not see those funds for a few weeks…or months.

Last week, the Trump administration ordered at least 30,000 IRS employees back to work and process refunds, without pay. But, a good percentage of those workers won’t be clocking in regardless of the order because of a provision in their union contract that allows them to miss work if they suffer a “hardship” during a shutdown. When the union comes through in the clutch!

According to labor groups, hardships could be anything from a blown car tire or an empty gas tank to a child-care bill, and allows employees to be absent without having to use sick days with guaranteed manager approval. Although there is no definitive number of employees taking advantage of the union provision, union leaders in areas such as Fresno, Austin, Andover, Kansas City, Atlanta and Indianapolis report between 30-40 call outs per day since last Thursday.

Tony Reardon, the President of the National Treasury Employees Union and whose union represents 150,000 employees at 33 federal agencies said, “They are definitely angry that they’re not getting paid, and maybe some of them are angry enough to express their anger this way. But these employees live paycheck to paycheck, and they can’t scrape up the dollars to get to work or pay for child care.” 

IRS employee Marissa Scott said, “I’m at the point where I cannot afford to go to work…I cannot afford to fill my gas tank.” Scott lives outside Kansas City, Mo. and drives 98 miles round trip to work every day. President of NTEU Chapter 49 Duncan Giles said, “The more this goes on and the tougher it is to get to work — they simply cannot afford it. Every single person wants to be at work. They want to help the American taxpayer. But we have to pay for gas and child care.”

IRS Spokesman Matt Leas said the IRS is continuing to work in preparation for the beginning of filing season next week. “We are continuing our recall operations, and we continue to assess the situation at this time,” he said.

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