Request by Seasonal Employees of IRS for Holiday Pay

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) requested a decision concerning the entitlement of 57 employees of the IRS Cincinnati Service Office to be paid for the Memorial Day holiday in 1975. The personnel involved were temporary employees assigned to night shift work during the income tax return filing season from January to May. Their employment was to terminate by prearrangement when there was no longer sufficient work to occupy them. IRS and NTEU agreed as to the circumstances which gave rise to the employees' claims: there was only enough work at the Cincinnati Service Center to justify the continued employment of seasonal personnel through the end of the day shift on the Friday preceding Memorial Day, they were separated on the Tuesday after the holiday, and all night shift employees with less than 8 hours accrued annual leave were denied holiday pay. NTEU filed a grievance on behalf of the employees, alleging that denial of holiday pay violated the existing collective bargaining agreement. The grievance was denied and NTEU invoked arbitration, but the parties agreed to submit the dispute to GAO in lieu of arbitration. The night shift workers were in a nonpay status for Friday night, leading IRS to deny them compensation for the holiday because the applicable law requires such employees to have been in pay status for the full preceding workday. NTEU cited a modification of this rule which directed compensation for temporary employees on holidays when they were willing and able to work but were prevented from doing so by the holiday. However, where employees are hired on a seasonal basis for only so long as work is available, there is no basis to presume that they are relieved or stopped from working only because of the holiday when, in fact, there is no work remaining to be performed. The separation of the 57 complainants on the day following the holiday was not controlling and the IRS denial of pay was proper. The day shift employees, who worked on Friday, were erroneously paid for the holiday, but they were without fault in the matter and the overpayments were waived.