IRS, SSA Crack Down on Advanced Leave as Agencies Cite Growing Leave Debt

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) suspended approvals of advanced annual and sick leave requests, telling employees the change is effective immediately and will remain in place “until further notice.”

HR officials in both agencies told employees in nearly identical July 24 emails that they are no longer accepting requests for advanced annual or sick leave. All pending requests will be denied. 

Leave that employees have already earned is not affected and advanced leave balances already granted will remain in place. However, outstanding balances must be repaid, even if an employee leaves federal service in most cases.

Agencies Cite Excessive Leave, Customer Service 

Under advanced leave policies, federal agencies can let employees borrow time off before the employee has accrued such hours. It’s often used for circumstances including major medical care, family emergencies, and bereavement of an immediate family member. However, the employee must pay the debt back through leave accruals, paycheck deductions, or even cash payments. 

In the emails, IRS and SSA noted the change is needed to ensure that a high level of customer service is provided to the public. Agency officials said several employees have accumulated advanced leave balances large enough that repayment is unlikely.

“This is debt carried against the future work of all our employees, work that has not yet occurred, and work the public expects us to deliver. This constrains our ability to invest in the people, tools, and resources our mission requires,” stated the emails. 

“Advanced leave, which is leave granted before it is earned, means employees are compensated for time away from our mission before the work has been done,” SSA wrote. “The cumulative effect over the years of this policy is significant and unsustainable and impacts our service to the public.”

SSA and IRS say the policy will remain in place pending efforts to reduce “existing significant advanced leave balances.”

Union Says Move Violates CBA

The suspension represents a significant shift in how the agencies manage one of the tools traditionally available to employees facing unexpected personal or medical circumstances.

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said it will challenge the move.

“This is not only an illegal violation of the collective bargaining agreement, but it’s unnecessarily cruel and harmful to IRS employees who either themselves are facing a medical crisis or caring for an ill family member,” said NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald. “Any insinuations that IRS employees are abusing their leave or assertions that taking such leave would harm public services are completely unfounded.”

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) also filed a grievance.