An independent arbitrator ruled last week that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) must restore 2024-level telework and remote work agreements. Arbitrator Christopher Shulman found that the agency violated its collective bargaining agreement with the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) when it unilaterally cancelled those work arrangements in early 2025.
The IRS had withdrawn from the arbitration proceedings in March 2026, following a directive from the Office of Personnel Management. This directive encouraged agencies to terminate union contracts based on executive orders issued by President Trump. Despite the agency's absence from the hearings, Shulman ruled that the dispute remained valid because the actions in question occurred while the contract was still in effect.
The agency previously argued that it was mandated to end telework by a January 2025 presidential memorandum requiring federal employees to return to offices full-time. However, Shulman's decision maintains that the agency's contract required case-by-case reviews and specific rationales for changing an employee's work status, which the IRS failed to provide. The ruling follows similar decisions by arbitrators involving other federal agencies, such as the Forest Service.