Nearly half of the Internal Revenue Service’s employees were placed on furlough this week as the federal government shutdown has now extended into its second week.
According to a memorandum sent to staff by Acting IRS Human Capital Officer David Traynor, thousands of workers were ordered to stop work effective October 8.
“When you are on furlough, you will be in non-pay, non-duty status. Paid leave, such as annual, sick, court or military leave, which has been approved for this furlough period is cancelled,” stated the letter.
Now, just 39,870 employees remain working at the IRS during the shutdown, representing just 53.6% of the total workers at the agency, per The Associated Press.
The letter further stated that employees who are on furlough “must remain away” from the workplace and “are prohibited by law from working, even on a voluntary basis.”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Trump administration had warned that government layoffs and furloughs were possible due to the lack of progress on a funding bill, resulting in the lengthy government shutdown.
The IRS stated in the letter that some employees had been “excepted or exempt from the furlough based on their specific duties,” though anyone not informed about an exemption was being placed on furlough.
Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said in a statement that the furloughs will have immediate consequences for both taxpayers and staff, saying that the “American people lost access to many vital services provided by the IRS.”
“Expect increased wait times, backlogs and delays implementing tax law changes as the shutdown continues. Taxpayers around the country will now have a much harder time getting the assistance they need, just as they get ready to file their extension returns due next week. Every day these employees are locked out of work is another day of frustration for taxpayers and a growing backlog of work that sits and waits for the shutdown to end,” she added.
“For frontline employees, the complete lack of planning left them in the dark about their work status until their supervisor informed them today. This is not the way our government should treat its dedicated nonpartisan public servants.”
As previously reported by DX, the IRS is just one of many government agencies affected by the shutdown, with many airports experiencing delays as a result. The Federal Aviation Administration reported various issues throughout major cities across the U.S., with many expecting these delays to continue until an agreement is made to end the shutdown.