IRS bringing probationary employees back to work

The IRS’s probationary employees have got to be feeling whiplash at this point.

In February, they were all laid off, as part of efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency to reduce the federal workforce. In March, they were back on the agency payroll but on administrative leave.

Now, they’ll be brought back to work.

The IRS last week informed the roughly 7,000 probationary employees that they’ll “soon receive instructions for how to return to full-time duty by April 14,” according to an email that CFO Brew reviewed. The email also pointed out the agency brought back the workers “in compliance with recent court orders.” A US district court judge last month determined the Office of Personnel Management illegally fired federal probationary employees.

It shouldn’t be surprising if some workers want to get off Mr. Bones’ Wild Ride rather than return to a tenuous employment situation. The IRS more or less acknowledged this in its email, which provided instructions for workers who don’t want to come back, and also made note that “outside employment does not necessarily prevent you from returning to work.”

One IRS employee told the Journal of Accountancy last week that she’s “just riding the government roller coaster right now.”

Elsewhere in the agency, the firings continued. The Washington Post reported on Friday that the IRS planned to shed 20,000 jobs and eliminate its office of civil rights and compliance. As CFO Brew previously reported, the agency allegedly aimed get rid of up to half its remaining workforce—although this was before the IRS was forced to bring back its probationary employees.

What position the agency’s workers will be in next month appears to be anyone’s guess.