The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that it will begin to recall workers in the coming weeks, as it scrambles to provide resources for the tax filing deadline on July 15.

The news was announced by IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig on Tuesday. Employee recalls will begin in three states – Kentucky, Texas, and Utah. The first wave of workers will return on June 1.

Workers to Return in Waves

The agency will work with a volunteer system. If there aren’t enough workers willing to return to offices on their initiative, management will designate staff to return to work. In an internal email, Rettig told the staff that “In some situations, depending on the response from volunteers, we may need to recall employees to support the mission.”

Exactly which workers will be recalled is at the discretion of the agency and its management. In the email, Rettig said that “Our business unit leaders are evaluating their [workers] needs and will make decisions about how many employees are needed in each location to clear out the backlog of work and safely resume operations.”

According to Rettig, office locations will meet or exceed CDC Coronavirus Pandemic safety guidelines. Management has already made provisions to thoroughly clean facilities and provide face masks and hand sanitizer for workers.

As many workers as possible will be kept at home to ensure that the agency can meet social distancing targets.

No Further Extension for Tax Filings

As of today, there is no further extension for the tax filing date.

Originally set for April 15, the government previously extended the deadline to July 15. Tax filers and others in the finance industry have called for the IRS to move the deadline outward.

The IRS is already backlogged, with workers furloughed or working from home without access to normal systems and support resources. Millions of economic stimulus payments have been processed by the IRS, adding to its typical tax season workload.

The IRS is an interesting case study for other government departments and American businesses.  The success of its recalls could help organizations to make decisions as economic restrictions are removed throughout the United States.

Most states have already relaxed their stay-at-home orders. Five states and Washington D.C. have kept strict lockdowns in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.