What This Bill Does
This bill requires certain Internal Revenue Service employees to work in their offices instead of from home. The requirement stays in place until the IRS finishes processing all backed-up income tax returns from 2020.
Who It Affects
IRS employees who are currently allowed to work from home under a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) policy.
Key Provisions
• IRS employees who currently have permission to telework (work from home) due to COVID-19 cannot telework starting 5 business days after this law takes effect (Sec. 2(a))
• These employees must return to working in their offices and stay there until the IRS Commissioner officially confirms that all backed-up 2020 tax returns have been processed (Sec. 2(a))
• The Secretary of the Treasury cannot spend funds that were given to the IRS under a previous law until the 2020 tax return backlog is eliminated (Sec. 3)
What Changes
If this becomes law, IRS employees currently authorized to work from home due to COVID-19 lose that authorization and must return to their offices. The IRS also cannot use certain funds until it finishes processing the backlog of 2020 tax returns.
Important Definitions
• "Applicable employee" means an IRS employee who as of the law's enactment was allowed to telework on a temporary or permanent basis under a COVID-19 policy (Sec. 2(b))
• "Telework" has the meaning given in federal law about working from locations other than a traditional office (Sec. 2(b))
Effective Date
The requirement takes effect 5 business days after the law is passed (Sec. 2(a)).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 360
To ensure that employees of the Internal Revenue Service are brought back
to their offices until the backlog of 2020 tax returns has been eliminated.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 13, 2023
Mr. MEUSER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To ensure that employees of the Internal Revenue Service
are brought back to their offices until the backlog of
2020 tax returns has been eliminated.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Require Employees
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To Uniformly Return Now Act’’ or the ‘‘RETURN Act’’.
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SEC. 2. BRINGING IRS EMPLOYEES BACK TO THE OFFICE.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
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sion of law, in the case of an applicable employee, such
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employee shall not be authorized to telework during the
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period—
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•HR 360 IH
(1) beginning on the date that is 5 business
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days after the date of enactment of this Act, and
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(2) ending on the date on which the Commis-
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sioner of Internal Revenue certifies that the proc-
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essing backlog with respect to income tax returns for
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taxable year 2020 has been eliminated.
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(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—
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(1) APPLICABLE EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘appli-
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cable employee’’ means an employee of the Internal
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Revenue Service who, as of the date of enactment of
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this Act, is authorized to telework, on a temporary
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or permanent basis, pursuant to a policy established
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by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue in re-
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sponse to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID–
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19).
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(2) TELEWORK.—The term ‘‘telework’’ has the
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same meaning given such term under section
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6501(3) of title 5, United States Code.
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SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON OBLIGATION OF FUNDS UNTIL IRS
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BACKLOG IS ELIMINATED.
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Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec-
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retary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s delegate) may
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not obligate the funds appropriated to the Internal Rev-
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enue Service under section 10301 of the Inflation Reduc-
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•HR 360 IH
tion Act (Public Law 117–169) until the date described
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in section 2(a)(2).
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Æ
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