IRS postpones Aug. 30 furlough day

IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel announced to staff Wednesday the agency was postponing the agencywide furlough day scheduled for Aug. 30.

The Internal Revenue Service is postponing another of its planned furlough days.

In an email to staff Wednesday, Acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel announced that the agency would be open for business on Friday, Aug. 30, postponing IRS’ fifth scheduled agencywide furlough day.

“We have made substantial progress in cutting costs. … Our progress is such that we have decided to postpone the furlough day scheduled for Aug. 30. We still have more work to do on the budget and cost-savings, so we will reevaluate in early September and make a final determination as to whether we will need another furlough day in September,” Werfel said, in the email.

The agency made the announcement today to give employees time to change their plans for Labor Day weekend, which starts on Aug. 31. According to Wefel’s email, liberal leave will be available for employees who have conflicts on that day.

IRS employees had furlough days earlier this year on May 24, June 14 and July 5, thanks to the automatic budget cuts from sequestration. The agency canceled it’s fourth scheduled furlough day on July 22.

IRS first announced in April it would furlough its entire nearly 90,000-person staff on five days, resulting in a virtual shutdown of the agency on those days.

When it canceled the July 22 furlough day, the agency warned employees that it might need to add one or two additional furlough days before the end of the fiscal year.

Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employee Union, which represents many IRS employees, was disappointed the agency chose to postpone rather than cancel the fifth scheduled furlough day.

“It has been and continues to be NTEU’s position that all remaining IRS furlough days should be canceled,” Kelley said in a statement. “NTEU will continue to work with the IRS to achieve that end.”

This story will be updated.

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