Senators Press IRS, SSA to Reverse Advanced Leave Crackdown

Four Senate Democrats say the suspension of advanced annual leave and advanced sick leave at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) could force more employees to quit their jobs and could leave Americans with “degraded access to their rightful Social Security benefits and needed IRS services.”

This comes after both agencies announced in July that they are suspending advanced annual and sick leave until further notice. That includes not accepting new requests for advanced leave and denying any pending requests.

In the letter to SSA Commissioner and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano, the senators wrote, “Now, you have imposed a cruel and unjustified plan that is likely to drive additional employees out the door, doubling down on the Administration’s already disastrous efforts to push out federal employees.” 

They asked the commissioner to respond to a number of questions, including figures on how many employees took advanced annual leave and advanced sick leave over the last ten years, how the suspension of the leave programs is impacting IRS and SSA operations as well as employees, why he is pursuing a blanket suspension of advanced leave instead of targeted enforcement, and the policy’s impact on recruitment and retention.

The letter was signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

IRS, SSA Say Leave Policy to Remain

For their part, the agencies say the suspension was needed due to a rising number of employees taking the advanced leave and not paying it back as required by law. They told staff the policy will remain in place until the “significant” balances of advanced leave already taken are reduced. 

“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 in an email to employees. “The cumulative effect over the years of this policy is significant and unsustainable and impacts our service to the public.”

But the senators disputed that, saying that availability of such leave is “limited” and that obtaining leave requires “approval from their employing agency” with some cases requiring documentation.

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.

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) is also asking a federal judge to block the IRS from enforcing the suspension of advanced leave.