Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and three other senators are pressing the head of the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service to reverse a suspension of advance paid leave that they say affects more than 120,000 workers.
In a Sept. 22 letter made public through Gillibrand's office, the lawmakers said internal agency memoranda from July indefinitely suspended advance annual and sick leave at both agencies. The policy previously allowed employees, with approval, to use leave before accruing it.
The senators asked Commissioner Frank Bisignano, who also leads the IRS, to explain the rationale, provide data on leave use and costs, and assess effects on operations, recruitment and retention. They set an Oct. 6 deadline for answers and urged him to restore the benefit.
Gillibrand, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Special Committee on Aging, warned that losing workers could worsen service for people seeking Social Security benefits or help with taxes. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen and Ron Wyden also signed the letter.
The letter cites agency memos saying accumulated advance-leave balances had become significant and unsustainable and affected public service. The senators argue that the agencies did not provide enough supporting data and that broad staffing reductions are a more plausible cause of service problems. Their claims about future departures and delays are warnings, not measured effects of the leave change.
The lawmakers also asked how the suspension would affect employees with disabilities, caregivers and workers age 50 or older, and what accommodations would be available to staff with medical or caregiving needs. The letter notes that an IRS workers' union has challenged the policy in court.
The dispute is national in scope and could affect federal employees and service users in New York, but the senators did not provide New York-specific staffing or wait-time figures in the letter.
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