Fired IRS Probationary Employees to Resume Work in Two Weeks

Thousands of IRS employees fired earlier this year are set to return to work by April 14, according to an IRS email obtained by Bloomberg Tax.

The move comes after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the termination of federal employees in their probationary period. The IRS reinstated those employees last month but placed them on administrative leave.

The IRS in a Wednesday email is now calling about 7,000 of those employees back to work in two weeks. The email said more communication would come regarding office assignments, temporary telework where space isn’t available, benefits information, and outside employment.

Those who don’t want to return to the IRS can resign by sending an email to an internal IRS address, according to the email. The IRS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The probationary firings are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to shrink the federal government. The administration intends to cull the IRS, an agency of about 100,000 at the beginning of this year, by 18%. The reduction is happening in phases: first a voluntary, deferred resignation offer, then the probationary terminations, then additional cuts as part of a reduction-in-force plan by May 15.

Trevor Norris, deputy assistant secretary for human resources at the Treasury Department, said in a court filing last week that because reduction-in-force plans are based on seniority, the reinstated probationary employees will be disproportionately affected.

“In some cases, bureaus may determine that the likelihood of certain reinstated probationary employees being separated is sufficiently high that restoring them to full duties in advance of the planned RIF would be unduly disruptive to both the employees and the bureau,” Norris said in the filing, which was part of a collection of sworn affidavits filed by US agency officials.

Most of the IRS workforce cuts are concentrated in the enforcement arm. Narrowing the workforce is expected to bring longer wait times, delayed refunds, and cause an uptick in taxpayers, particularly those who are wealthy, not paying what they owe.

Federal News Network first reported the decision.