The statement from the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents workers in 33 federal agencies and departments, came as the IRS had requested that some mission-critical employees volunteer to come back to their offices and to bring their own face masks starting Monday.
The union didn't address any specific agency or department in the statement posted on its website. Its conditions for bringing back workers also included proof of thorough cleaning of sites, adequate supplies of sanitizers and disinfectants, a policy of voluntary maximum telework, workspaces that provide for physical distancing, procedures for taking employees' temperatures before they enter buildings, and permitting and providing the use of cloth face coverings.
The union said that much of what it wants is supported in guidelines issued by the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management for reopening closed facilities and that it will work with agencies where it represents workers to ensure those guidelines are followed.
"We were critical of those agencies that were too slow to expand telework or close their buildings as the coronavirus spread throughout the country," said Tony Reardon, the union's national president, in the statement. "And now we are on guard for those who want to reopen them too quickly before the public health threat has subsided."
The IRS said in a Saturday statement its request for workers to return was consistent with the OMB and OPM guidelines. The IRS referred Law360 to that statement when asked for comment. In it, the agency said it was working to acquire personal protective equipment for its workers and expected much of it to be delivered soon.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the IRS to shutter all its service centers, direct much of its workforce to work remotely and suspend some enforcement actions.
Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the House Ways and Means Committee chairman, and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., chairman of the Ways and Means oversight subcommittee, said in a statement over the weekend that it was the IRS' obligation to provide workers with personal protective equipment and that requiring workers to supply their own masks was unethical.
--Editing by Robert Rudinger.
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