The IRS said in a Friday email to employees that certain mission-critical workers would be recalled to perform services that cannot be done remotely, such as answering phone calls, opening mail and processing paper tax returns. Those workers must provide their own personal protective equipment and may be required to leave if they fail to do so, the agency said.
Employees are "required to bring personal face coverings for their nose and mouth area when they come to work," the agency said in its email. "An employee who fails to adhere to the requirements in the memo may be required to return home until such time the employee adheres to these requirements."
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS shuttered its service centers and Taxpayer Assistance Centers. It also directed much of its workforce to telework and suspended some enforcement actions. Now, the IRS says bringing employees back to work is essential to address the needs of the nation, such as opening mail, processing paper tax returns and sending out refundable tax credits.
Recalled employees would be working on a voluntary basis and would be eligible for extra incentive pay, the agency separately told Law360 in a statement.
The initial wave of employees will likely consist of 10,000 workers, who will be based at 10 separate locations, according to Tony Reardon, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents IRS workers.
Two leading Democratic lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee criticized the agency's requirement that workers provide their own protective equipment.
Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said in a letter Friday that it was the responsibility of the IRS to provide its employees with personal protective gear.
"The agency is expecting entirely too much of employees who are likely distraught over the health risks returning to work presents for themselves and for their families, as well as the potential repercussions they could face if they do not clock in on Monday with the mandated equipment in-hand," the lawmakers said in their letter.
Requiring government employees to supply their own face masks is morally dubious, the lawmakers said.
"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," the lawmakers said.
That's especially true given the fact that more than 100 IRS employees have reportedly contracted COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, four of whom have died as a result, the representatives said.
For his part, Reardon said the NTEU is working with the IRS to ensure employees are able to protect their health while working on site. Thousands of other employees who are working remotely should continue doing so for the time being, he said.
--Editing by Christine Chun.
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