An arbitrator ordered the Internal Revenue Service to allow its unionized employees to work remotely once again after a dispute over a memo signed by President Trump following his inauguration last year ordering agencies to terminate remote work arrangements and bring federal employees back to the office.
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The order from the neutral this-party arbitrator represented a victory for the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents 38 federal offices and agencies, including the IRS. The arbitrator found the IRS violated the NTEU’s negotiated collective bargaining agreement and a memorandum of understanding when it suspended most telework and remote work last year to comply with the
“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,” said the memorandum.
Earlier this year, the IRS unilaterally
The NTEU acknowledged in a news release that the contract provision on telework and remote work sometimes allows the IRS to temporarily pause arrangements in limited cases, but the arbitrator ruled that the agency violated NTEU’s contract by eliminating all telework and remote work agreements. The arbitrator also ruled that the IRS failed to show that telework and remote work agreements have impaired IRS operations.
After the return-to-work order took effect last year, there were reports of overcrowding in IRS offices and
The arbitrator ordered the IRS to restore telework and remote work to levels from before March 8, 2025, when the agency terminated most employee agreements, and stop further violations of the negotiated article.
The IRS has 30 days in which to appeal the decision to the Federal Labor Relations Authority, but the NTEU is urging the IRS to comply with the order. For tax professionals, the added flexibility may mean better morale and responsiveness from the IRS employees they deal with on a regular basis on behalf of their taxpayer clients.
“IRS employees have been successfully teleworking for years, and reports show that telework is good for agencies, employees and the public they serve,” said NTEU national president Doreen Greenwald in a statement. “Not only does telework save taxpayers money through reduced leasing costs, reduced energy expenses and increased productivity, it also boosts employee recruitment and retention, reduces traffic congestion and helps ease rising commuting costs. NTEU is ready and determined to continue fighting to enforce our win on behalf of the employees we represent.”
The favorable decision from the arbitrator in the case of IRS employees comes on the heels of a series of arbitration victories the union said it has secured against agencies stripping employees of their telework and remote work rights under NTEU-negotiated contracts. The NTEU said it recently won similar arbitration decisions at other agencies including Customs and Border Protection, the National Park Service, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
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