As part of its reduction-in-force (RIF) plan, the IRS on Tuesday said it was offering three voluntary separation programs, including an early retirement program available to workers with the most seniority.
The RIF “will result in staffing cuts across multiple offices and job categories,” the email to employees said. As part of this RIF, the IRS is partnering with Treasury to offer three voluntary separation programs.
The programs outlined in the email are:
- Treasury deferred resignation program (TDRP 2.0): This “second and final” deferred resignation program is open through Monday. It mirrors the benefits of the previous TDRP, including paid administrative leave through Sept. 30. Employees who apply for the program will leave work as soon as April 28 and no later than Sept. 30. However, taxpayer-services employees are not permitted to leave until June 30.
- Voluntary separation incentive program (VSIP): Employees accepted for this program must leave no later than May 31. Administrative leave is not available under the VSIP. Employees may resign, “optionally retire,” or take VSIP and the early retirement program within certain parameters. Not all groups of employees are eligible.
- Voluntary early retirement application (VERA): Employees enrolling in either of the first two programs may take VERA if they are age 50 with at least 20 years of creditable federal service or any age with at least 25 years of federal creditable service.
Certain groups of employees within IRS-Criminal Investigations are not eligible for the programs. One group of employees within the Independent Office of Appeals can have no more than 168 enrollees in the VSIP.
The IRS is preparing for an overall 25% RIF, multiple media outlets reported last week. The IRS announced the start of the RIF on Friday, when it said the first layoffs were in the Office of Civil Rights. Five percent of workers took the first deferred resignation offer, and 75% will lose their jobs through a RIF, the email said. The remaining employees were moved to the Office of Chief Counsel.
Additionally, Melanie Krause, the acting commissioner of the IRS, is resigning. Krause is the third IRS leader to resign since Jan. 20. A Treasury statement sent by email to the JofA said:
“Melanie Krause has been leading the IRS through a time of extraordinary change. As we focus on IT modernization and reorganize the agency to better serve the taxpayer, we are also in the midst of breaking down data silos that for too long have stood in the way of identifying waste, fraud, and abuse and bringing criminals to justice. We believe these goals are critical to a more efficient government and safer country. We wish Melanie well on her next endeavor.”
Also on Tuesday, the Supreme Court blocked an order for the Trump administration to reinstate 16,000 probationary workers at six federal agencies as a lawsuit filed in California works its way through the courts. However, an order in a separate lawsuit filed in Maryland means many workers will remain on paid administrative leave.
In an email sent last week, the IRS said about 7,000 probationary workers who lost their jobs in February and were placed on administrative leave in March would return to work by April 14. That decision was in response to the court order that the Supreme Court blocked Tuesday.
It was not clear late Tuesday if the IRS still planned to have those probationary employees return to work.
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Martha Waggoner at Martha.Waggoner@aicpa-cima.com.
