The Internal Revenue Service allowed employees to work from home as many as eight days every two weeks before President Donald Trump stepped in to halt federal telework policies, according to records reviewed by The Post.
The telework arrangement negotiated in October 2023 between the IRS and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) enabled agency staff to work remotely up to four days a week.
The agreement drew criticism from within the agency itself, as IRS officials warned the policy could hinder productivity and violate broader Treasury Department rules requiring at least 40% of employees to work in person.
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Despite the agency’s concerns, an arbitrator rejected efforts to cap remote work at six days per pay period. “To hold telework solely responsible for such issues is inappropriate,” the arbitrator ruled.
“Given the need for supervisors to assess the portability of an individual employee’s work, I am not convinced there should be an arbitrary six-day cap.”
The union negotiations, funded in part by taxpayers, came under scrutiny from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who has repeatedly challenged the IRS on spending and accountability.
Ernst’s office revealed the telework policy as part of a broader investigation into federal remote work and union activities.
“While the American people are working hard, the tax collectors are trying to hardly work. It is infuriating that our tax dollars are footing the bill for union bosses to negotiate for IRS bureaucrats to get cushy telework agreements and bloated bonus structures.”
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The IRS union had also fought to lock in bonuses for employees rated as “outstanding” or “exceed fully successful.” The arbitrator rejected that demand, favoring a more limited bonus system to be determined by individual departments.
The exact cost of the IRS union negotiations remains unclear. However, government data from 2019 shows that federal agencies collectively spent $160 million on union activity using taxpayer funds.
On his first day back in the White House, President Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to terminate remote work arrangements and resume full in-office operations, with only limited exceptions approved by department heads.
The decision came in response to findings from Ernst’s office showing that, as of late 2024, only 6% of federal employees worked fully in-person. Nearly one-third were working entirely remotely—up significantly from just 3% before the pandemic.
Ernst has a long-standing record of calling out the IRS for lack of accountability. In July 2023, watchdog reports revealed that IRS employees and contractors owed $46 million in unpaid taxes.
“This adds insult to injury to the fact that the agency is filled with tax cheats,” Ernst said, referring to the latest collective bargaining arrangement. “I have a laundry list of reforms to fix America’s least favorite government agency.”
This week, just ahead of Tax Day, Ernst introduced legislation requiring the IRS to verify that all of its employees are fully compliant on their own tax obligations.
The IRS and NTEU have not responded publicly to the reports.
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