Federal

RETURN Act

Source: Congress.gov · 370 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill requires certain Internal Revenue Service employees to stop working from home and return to their offices. The requirement stays in place until the IRS Commissioner confirms that the backlog of income tax returns has been completely processed.

Who It Affects

IRS employees who have been authorized to work from home (either temporarily or permanently) under policies created in response to COVID-19.

Key Provisions

• IRS employees covered by this bill cannot work from home starting 5 business days after the bill becomes law (Sec. 2(a)) • This no-telework requirement continues until the IRS Commissioner certifies that the income tax return processing backlog has been eliminated (Sec. 2(a)) • The rule applies to "applicable employees," meaning IRS workers who were allowed to telework as of the bill's enactment date under IRS policies related to COVID-19 (Sec. 2(b)(1))

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, covered IRS employees lose their authorization to work remotely and must work in IRS offices instead, with this requirement lasting until the tax return backlog is gone.

Important Definitions

• Telework means work performed by an employee with approval that substitutes for commuting to and working at an office location (Sec. 2(b)(2)) • Applicable employee means an IRS worker authorized to telework temporarily or permanently under COVID-19 policies as of the bill's enactment date (Sec. 2(b)(1))

Effective Date

5 business days after the bill becomes law (Sec. 2(a)(1))

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 155 To ensure that employees of the Internal Revenue Service are brought back to their offices until the backlog of income tax returns has been eliminated. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 31, 2023 Mr. KENNEDY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To ensure that employees of the Internal Revenue Service are brought back to their offices until the backlog of income 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, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Require Employees 4 To Uniformly Return Now Act’’ or the ‘‘RETURN Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. BRINGING IRS EMPLOYEES BACK TO THE OFFICE. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other law, in 7 the case of an applicable employee, such employee shall 8 not be authorized to telework during the period— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Feb 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S155.IS S155 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 155 IS (1) beginning on the date that is 5 business 1 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and 2 (2) ending on the date on which the Commis- 3 sioner of Internal Revenue certifies that the proc- 4 essing backlog with respect to income tax returns 5 has been eliminated. 6 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 7 (1) APPLICABLE EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘appli- 8 cable employee’’ means an employee of the Internal 9 Revenue Service who, as of the date of enactment of 10 this Act, is authorized to telework, on a temporary 11 or permanent basis, pursuant to a policy established 12 by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue in re- 13 sponse to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID– 14 19). 15 (2) TELEWORK.—The term ‘‘telework’’ has the 16 same meaning given such term under section 17 6501(3) of title 5, United States Code. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:42 Feb 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S155.IS S155 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.