NTEU has filed a national grievance, alleging that the IRS violated the 2022 National Agreement, the 2012 Customer Service Agreement, and committed Unfair Labor Practices over the IRS’s determination to deny all annual leave requests by W&I AM employees from January 1 through April 21, 2023.

It is no secret that the IRS has struggled in recent years to recruit and retain employees. That is why it is inexplicable that the IRS has decided to deny all annual leave requests for W&I Accounts Management (AM) employees from January 1 through April 21, 2023. Citing its unreasonably high Level of Service goal for the 2023 filing season, the IRS determined it would “block out” all dates during this period for annual leave requests. We were incensed by this decision and immediately requested a briefing. After meeting with the IRS, including with top leadership in W&I, it became clear that the agency intends to move forward with its decision.

The IRS decision to deny leave requests is a morale buster and shows a lack of respect for AM employees who have tackled unprecedented backlogs without adequate resources. NTEU will not stand by while these employees are disrespected; we intend to vigorously fight this ill-advised and shortsighted decision. 

As a first step, NTEU has filed the attached national grievance and unfair labor practice charges against the IRS. Among other remedies, we are requesting that employees’ leave requests be granted prospectively, as well as retroactively if we must fight these violations beyond the time when the leave would be taken. We are also requesting that employees be made whole for any losses. We will soon be following up with information on how impacted IRS members can provide information that will assist us in prosecuting this grievance. 

NTEU is also considering additional ways to fight back and bring pressure to bear on the IRS to reverse its harmful decision. I will have more details to provide on that in the near future. In the meantime, I know you will help our members stay strong and we appreciate all you do to support our members every day.