NTEU Chapter 67  leadership personally delivered letters demanding an end to the shutdown to the offices of Senator Lee and Senator Romney. They also met with a represent from the Utah State Governors office requesting additional relief for essential and non-essential employees to continue receiving unemployment benefits. 

 

In NTEU’s continuing effort to provide the best service to our members we have opened a temporary office in the Marriott-Slaterville City Office. Beginning January 17th until further notice we will be available Mon-Fri 3 PM-5PM at 1570 W 400 N Ogden, UT 84404. We can always be reached at NTEU67.org, NTEU67@gmail.com, Facebook, and Twitter. 

 

Article 48 | Furloughs

Section 1

Shutdown Furloughs Due to Lapse in

Appropriations / Debt Ceiling Limitations

In the event that funds are not available through an

appropriations law or continuing resolution, a shutdown

furlough occurs. Such a furlough may be necessary when

an agency no longer has the funds to operate and must shut

down those activities which are not excepted pursuant to

the Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 1341 and 1342. 

151

2016 National Agreement | Internal Revenue Service and National Treasury Employees Union Article 48

The following procedures will apply:

A. The Employer will provide written notice to National

NTEU when it is reasonably foreseeable that a

shutdown furlough will occur.

B. All Service employees will be furloughed except for

those employees performing excepted functions or

those employees whose positions are exempt. When

there is more than one (1) qualified employee in the

same position, grade, post of duty, and tour of duty

available for an excepted position, the Employer has

determined that employees will be assigned to the

excepted position by inverse seniority based on enter

on duty (EOD) date. The Employer will consider an

employee’s request not to work due to a hardship. If

the employee’s request is honored, the Employer has

determined that the next employee, meeting the above

criteria, will be assigned to the excepted position.

C. The Service will provide local NTEU Chapters with

one (1) copy of the decision letter together with a

list of those employees who have been designated

as excepted or those employees who are deemed to

be exempt. The local parties will determine the form

of and the timing for delivery of the list. Employees

will be given a written document notifying them of

applicability to the employee.

D. Employees are expected to listen to radio and/or

television broadcasts to learn when an appropriation

or continuing resolution has been signed or when

the debt ceiling has been raised. The Employer and

the Union are free to negotiate, at the national level,

additional methods of notifying employees about

the conclusion of the furlough. Employees will then

be expected to report to work no later than four (4)

hours after that announcement. In the event the

announcement contains instructions on reporting to

work later than that, employees will be expected to

follow those instructions. A liberal leave policy will be

in effect on the day employees are to return to work.

Employees who travel during the time of the furlough

will be expected to return to work in accordance with

the terms of this Article or with the more specific

instructions.

E. If an employee has “use or lose” leave scheduled during

the furlough, the employee and his/her manager

shall make every reasonable effort to reschedule the

expiring leave during the leave year. In the event

that it cannot be rescheduled, the shutdown will

qualify as an exigency of the public business and the

forfeited leave may be restored in accordance with

IRM 6.630.1.3.3.

F. During any fiscal year in which a furlough occurs, the

Service and NTEU shall jointly issue an all-employee

notice with Questions and Answers attached which

will advise employees of the impact of non-pay status

on civil service benefits and programs and which will

address some financial concerns employees may have

when faced with a pay reduction. The Service will

distribute this notice to all employees.

G. All employees will receive from the servicing Personnel

Office a fact sheet describing unemployment benefits

available in their jurisdiction. At a minimum, this notice

will contain information on unemployment benefits

availability, the waiting period, if any, benefits eligibility

requirements, and the location and phone number

of State and/or municipal agencies responsible for

administering the program in the local area.

H. During the period of the furlough employees may

engage in outside employment in accordance with the

“Plain Talk About Ethics and Conduct.” Employees may

not engage in any activity prohibited therein. While

in a non-pay status, such employees may engage in

outside employment without obtaining prior written

permission that is otherwise required. Upon return to

duty status, employees must submit a written request

to engage in outside employment if such activity

continues.

I. When a shutdown furlough impacts the contractual

deadlines of this Agreement,  all parties will

be  provided  one (1) additional day in which to meet

those contractual deadlines for each day of the furlough.

Article 48 | FurloughsSection 1Shutdown Furloughs Due to Lapse inAppropriations / Debt Ceiling LimitationsIn the event that funds are not available through anappropriations law or continuing resolution, a shutdownfurlough occurs. Such a furlough may be necessary whenan agency no longer has the funds to operate and must shutdown those activities which are not excepted pursuant tothe Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 1341 and 1342. 151
2016 National Agreement | Internal Revenue Service and National Treasury Employees Union Article 48The following procedures will apply:
A. The Employer will provide written notice to NationalNTEU when it is reasonably foreseeable that ashutdown furlough will occur.
B. All Service employees will be furloughed except forthose employees performing excepted functions orthose employees whose positions are exempt. Whenthere is more than one (1) qualified employee in thesame position, grade, post of duty, and tour of dutyavailable for an excepted position, the Employer hasdetermined that employees will be assigned to theexcepted position by inverse seniority based on enteron duty (EOD) date. The Employer will consider anemployee’s request not to work due to a hardship. Ifthe employee’s request is honored, the Employer hasdetermined that the next employee, meeting the abovecriteria, will be assigned to the excepted position.
C. The Service will provide local NTEU Chapters withone (1) copy of the decision letter together with alist of those employees who have been designatedas excepted or those employees who are deemed tobe exempt. The local parties will determine the formof and the timing for delivery of the list. Employeeswill be given a written document notifying them ofapplicability to the employee.
D. Employees are expected to listen to radio and/ortelevision broadcasts to learn when an appropriationor continuing resolution has been signed or whenthe debt ceiling has been raised. The Employer andthe Union are free to negotiate, at the national level,additional methods of notifying employees aboutthe conclusion of the furlough. Employees will thenbe expected to report to work no later than four (4)hours after that announcement. In the event theannouncement contains instructions on reporting towork later than that, employees will be expected tofollow those instructions. A liberal leave policy will bein effect on the day employees are to return to work.Employees who travel during the time of the furloughwill be expected to return to work in accordance withthe terms of this Article or with the more specificinstructions.
E. If an employee has “use or lose” leave scheduled duringthe furlough, the employee and his/her managershall make every reasonable effort to reschedule theexpiring leave during the leave year. In the eventthat it cannot be rescheduled, the shutdown willqualify as an exigency of the public business and theforfeited leave may be restored in accordance withIRM 6.630.1.3.3.
F. During any fiscal year in which a furlough occurs, theService and NTEU shall jointly issue an all-employeenotice with Questions and Answers attached whichwill advise employees of the impact of non-pay statuson civil service benefits and programs and which willaddress some financial concerns employees may havewhen faced with a pay reduction. The Service willdistribute this notice to all employees.
G. All employees will receive from the servicing PersonnelOffice a fact sheet describing unemployment benefitsavailable in their jurisdiction. At a minimum, this noticewill contain information on unemployment benefitsavailability, the waiting period, if any, benefits eligibilityrequirements, and the location and phone numberof State and/or municipal agencies responsible foradministering the program in the local area.
H. During the period of the furlough employees mayengage in outside employment in accordance with the“Plain Talk About Ethics and Conduct.” Employees maynot engage in any activity prohibited therein. Whilein a non-pay status, such employees may engage inoutside employment without obtaining prior writtenpermission that is otherwise required. Upon return toduty status, employees must submit a written requestto engage in outside employment if such activitycontinues.
I. When a shutdown furlough impacts the contractualdeadlines of this Agreement,  all parties willbe  provided  one (1) additional day in which to meetthose contractual deadlines for each day of the furlough.

Thousands of Employees Called Back

IRS Releases New Filing Season Plan

The IRS today issued an updated tax filing season contingency plan that has been approved by the Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget. Under the plan, the IRS indicated that it will recall 36,000 more employees to prepare for the tax filing season.

Once again, the IRS is using the “call tree” process to contact employees. The IRS will begin contacting employees as early as today to return to work. Employees who receive a call are obligated to return to work as directed.

NTEU understands this recall will add to the anger and frustration that you already rightfully feel. Many of you were forced to stay home or work without pay, and now thousands more employees will be on the job without a paycheck. On top of this, some employees previously dealt with the chaos of being called back to work one day and told to stay home the next.

Last week, NTEU filed a lawsuit alleging that the executive branch can’t continue to force more employees to work in exchange for a promise they will be paid later. NTEU was in court today arguing our case and asking for an immediate temporary restraining order to stop the administration from obligating funds to federal employee salaries that Congress has not yet appropriated. While a judge denied NTEU's request for a temporary restraining order, he did set a court date later this month for our request for a preliminary injunction.

The union also is moving forward with a separate lawsuit challenging the administration’s authority to force thousands of federal employees to work without pay. If processing tax returns is an essential government service that should not be suspended during a shutdown, then the employees who provide that service should be compensated on their regular pay day, as required by law.  

The IRS needs to get ready for the impending filing season, and employees want to work. But the bottom line is, you need a paycheck now. We will continue to drive home this message to Congress and the administration and tell your story to the media and the American public. NTEU is in close contact with the IRS, and we will continue to voice your concerns and get your questions answered on this transition.

Despite this stressful and uncertain time, you remain committed to your job and the American people, and we thank you.

Unemployment Benefits

Employees who are recalled but still seeking unemployment benefits should be aware that some states allow residents to receive unemployment benefits if they are working but not receiving a paycheck. Laws vary by state and more information is available here. You may need to provide a completed SF-8 form and a furlough letter from the agency. NTEU has received reports that the IRS is not providing timely salary information to state unemployment offices. The union has contacted the agency to fix this problem.

Hardships

The IRS must consider an employee's request not to work due to a hardship. While hardships are not defined in the agreement, they could be financial in nature. Employees seeking a hardship exemption should provide as much detail as possible. Beyond hardships, employees cannot simply refuse to come into work. 

 Contingency plan can be found here https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/266/IRS-Lapse-in-Appropriations-Contingency-Plan_Filing-Season_2019-01-15.pdf

 

The Office of Personnel Management issued a new memorandum regarding the restoration of annual leave for employees affected by the government shutdown.

Today the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a new memorandum in response to questions as to whether properly scheduled use-or-lose annual leave that was unable to be used due the shutdown may be restored to both employees required to work and those furloughed.

As you know, during a lapse in appropriations, all paid leave or other paid time off is cancelled.  Under 5 U.S.C. 6304(d)(1), annual leave in excess of an employee’s annual leave ceiling is to be restored if it is forfeited because of “exigencies of the public business” when the leave was scheduled in advance.  Under 5 CFR 630.308(a), this means the leave had to be scheduled before the start of the third biweekly pay period prior to the end of the leave year.  

Before the shutdown commenced OPM and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) determined that a lapse in appropriation qualifies as an exigency of the public business for purposes of annual leave restoration.  Therefore, according to OPM, as long as the leave was properly scheduled in writing no later than November 24, 2018, agencies must restore any annual leave that was forfeited because of the lapse in appropriations—regardless of whether the affected employees were furloughed or excepted from the furlough.  However, OPM noted that any previously restored annual leave that was due to expire at the end of the 2018 leave year and was subsequently forfeited, may not be restored again even if the forfeiture was due to the lapse in appropriations.

As this shutdown continues, we will provide additional updates as they become available.

https://kslnewsradio.com/category/podcast_player/?a=35554&sid=2017&n=The+Jaymac+News+Show

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/08/us/paychecks-government-shutdown.html

Additional unemployment information

 

As always, we want to encourage employees to first go to IRS.gov and type in the words “Employee Emergency” for continuing information on the furlough. The Employee Resource Center (ERC) help line 866-743-5748, option 1 is also available to assist employees with questions after they have reviewed the IRS.gov “Employee Emergency” page.

Below is additional information received from the Utah Unemployment Claims Center with tips to help expedite filing  unemployment claims due to the shutdown.   

1. A claim can be filed online at jobs.utah.gov. 

2. Claimants are NOT required to supply pay stubs for monetary eligibility. With the government shutdown, there is a backlog of employees filing for claims, so government agencies are taking longer to get back to the Unemployment Claims Center with wages. In an effort to try and determine monetary eligibility faster, the Unemployment  Claims Center is asking all federally employed claimants to send pays stubs for their base period, which for most is the time period of July 1st 2017 - December 31 2018. Again, it is not required, but they are trying to do what they can to speed up the process. 

3. If a claimant is able and chooses to send pay stubs, they can fax it to 801-526-9394. They just need to list their first and last name and the last four digits of their social security number so the Unemployment  Claims Center can attach the fax to their claim. Claimants can use the fax machines at the Workforce Services Employment Centers for free.