The IRS is struggling to get its employees back to work in person at least 50% of the time, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the agency’s labor union is the chief hurdle.
In striking testimony to Congress, Ms. Yellen suggested that the department could have to renegotiate the contracts to get those employees back to their desks more often.
“Some of the employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. They’re members of a union and to enforce those rules requires an agreement with the union,” she told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.
Ms. Yellen disputed data suggesting that her Treasury Department headquarters building could be downsized, saying she thinks her space is being “fully utilized.”
Her comments come as pressure mounts on the Biden administration to carry out its post-pandemic vow of getting federal employees back to work or, if they’re not coming back, to sell off the office space they’ve left vacant.
A March report by the Public Buildings Reform Board found Treasury was using just 22% of its space in its historic headquarters next to the White House.
That put it ahead of most departments and agencies. The PBRB found the Agriculture Department filled just 6% of its space and Housing and Urban Development was using 11%.
Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, challenged Ms. Yellen over the empty buildings and in particular the trouble with getting IRS employees into the office.
Ms. Collins said the latest data shows the IRS funneled about half of its taxpayer inquiries this year to automated responses instead of live customer service representatives.
The senator then pointed out that the IRS currently requires employees to be in the office for half of their workdays.
“Why only half?” she wondered.
She cited data from the IRS’s inspector general that showed employees worked in person just 37% of the time, teleworked 22% of the time and did “hybrid” work 40% of the time in the final months of 2023.
Ms. Yellen blamed the union contracts, and Ms. Collins suggested that “those contracts need to be renegotiated with the taxpayers’ interests in mind.”
“Agreed,” Ms. Yellen said.
Ms. Yellen’s department did not respond to multiple inquiries by The Washington Times for this story.
The National Treasury Employees Union represents IRS workers. NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald said they’ve had a telework agreement with the IRS for decades.
“Every time our contract comes up for renewal, both parties re-evaluate the program’s effectiveness and make adjustments accordingly,” she said.
She also said the union has been working with the IRS to find ways to reduce space, such as sharing offices, which she said saves taxpayers money on real estate.
“Whether at the IRS or other federal agencies, the government should focus its resources on employees and how best to achieve the missions of federal agencies, not on simply filling buildings and offices to meet some subjective percentage,” Ms. Greenwald said.
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel testified to Congress last month that the IRS’s walk-in centers are always fully staffed for in-person appointments and continuously open new locations.
“There is no remote work in any of our walk-in centers around the country,” he said.
Mr. Werfel has said the IRS is vying with major financial companies for employees and telework is an important factor if the federal government wants to be competitive.
Ms. Yellen said they are working to consolidate offices where they can. She pointed to the decision earlier this year to move the Bureau of Fiscal Service out of the Liberty Loan Building and give it space in the U.S. Mint’s headquarters.
The Liberty Loan Building opened in 1919 and was intended to temporarily house the bureaucratic expansion following World War I.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.