{"id":764,"date":"2026-08-11T22:36:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T22:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=764"},"modified":"2026-08-11T22:36:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T22:36:53","slug":"irs-says-a-new-policy-moots-nteus-first-amendment-lawsuit-the-union-isnt-so-sure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketrelocationreport.com\/?p=764","title":{"rendered":"IRS says a new policy \u2018moots\u2019 NTEU\u2019s First Amendment lawsuit. The union isn\u2019t so sure"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Internal Revenue Service says a new policy governing what materials may posted in communal office spaces like bulletin boards clears the agency of accusations that it violated employees\u2019 First Amendment rights when it began confiscating flyers and decorations supportive of the National Treasury Employees Union.<\/p>\n

Read more A crucial cybersecurity system is getting a closer look from Congress<\/a><\/p>\n

But attorneys representing the union said they\u2019ve thus far received mixed messages as to whether the new policy would adequately address the concerns underlying a federal lawsuit stemming from the initial May directive.<\/p>\n

On May 29, IRS issued a directive, purportedly stemming from President Trump\u2019s 2025 executive order banning collective bargaining at many agencies, instructing its facilities management employees to remove \u201cany and all NTEU materials\u201d in IRS facilities using \u201cwhatever steps necessary,\u201d short of vandalism. A federal lawsuit the following month documented instances in which NTEU flyers and decorations were taken from communal bulletin boards, stolen from employees\u2019 cubicles and, in several cases, destroyed.<\/p>\n

In late June, the IRS and NTEU jointly filed a stipulation to the court, announcing that agency management agreed to halt its campaign and return any union materials that had been confiscated but not yet destroyed.<\/p>\n

In a new filing last week, IRS informed the court that it had promulgated a , this time stating that only \u201cagency-sponsored materials\u201d and non-agency documents mandated by law, such as Occupational Safety and Health Administration notices, may be permitted in communal spaces such as bulletin boards. Employees may still decorate their workspace as they wish, provided they are consistent with federal ethics, equal employment opportunity and other existing IRS rules.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Facilities Management and Security Services] retains exclusive authority over posting and displays of materials in common areas or on designated bulletin boards of IRS facilities, and will only authorize agency-sponsored materials, with the exception of non-agency materials mandated by law,\u201d the August 4 memo states. \u201cEmployees are not authorized to post written materials in IRS facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of its filing, IRS asked the union if it would entertain dismissing the portion of its lawsuit against the agency stemming from the materials confiscation policy as \u201cmoot,\u201d noting that policies governing speech are generally not considered First Amendment violations if they are \u201ccontent neutral.\u201d<\/p>\n

NTEU, in its filed Monday, said it needs more information as it has received \u201cconflicted information\u201d about the new policy and its implementation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe language of the August 4 policy says, for example, that the only materials that may be posted in IRS workplace common areas are \u2018agency-sponsored materials,\u2019 which the IRS interprets as \u2018materials created at the behest of the IRS and for the purpose of IRS business,\u2019\u201d the union wrote. \u201cBut the IRS\u2019 Facilities Management and Security Services is posting notices telling employees, in contrast to the August 4 policy, that it may approve \u2018non-agency-sponsored materials for display in common areas\u2019 . . . NTEU might challenge this policy if it believes that it is merely a fa\u00e7ade for viewpoint-based discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

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But even if the new policy does assuage NTEU\u2019s concerns, that would not be the end of the legal challenge. That\u2019s because last month, the union to include additional alleged First Amendment violations, this time in the form of a content filter blocking access to the union\u2019s website from agency computers.<\/p>\n

If someone tries to access NTEU.org from an agency work station, a splash screen appears warning that the site has been flagged for \u201cpotentially damaging content,\u201d for which the ban has \u201cvery limited or no exceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the IRS\u2019 IT regulations, employees are barred from accessing pornography, \u201cpersonal services\u201d like online dating or most social media, hacking websites, online games, \u201cproxy avoidance\u201d sites and filesharing. One IRS employee told Government Executive<\/em> the web filter typically lists one of those six categories when blocking a website; conversely, they had never seen the \u201cpotentially damaging\u201d category before.<\/p>\n

Also unusual was language suggesting that the restrictions would have \u201cvery limited or no exceptions,\u201d the employee said. In most cases, IRS has a process by which employees may request an exception to access a website that has been blocked for a business need, such as for an audit or other investigation.<\/p>\n

According to the amended complaint, the agency has also gone so far as to block all emails originating from the nteu.org domain. This has had damaging ramifications for employees involved in EEO cases and appeals before the Merit Systems Protection Board, the union said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen one NTEU attorney who had filed an MSPB case on behalf of an IRS employee engaged in settlement discussions over the phone with the agency attorney, the agency attorney told him that she would email him a document,\u201d the complaint states. \u201cAfter a day or two, however, the NTEU attorney had not received the document, even though the agency attorney insisted that she sent it. After another few days, the NTEU attorney told that agency attorney that he would go to the MSPB judge if he continued to not receive the document. Then, another day or two later, he was able to send emails to and receive them from the agency attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the IRS unblocked emails associated with NTEU for managers, HR personnel and some attorneys at the agency, it left it in place for members of the bargaining unit.<\/p>\n

Read more Senate clears spending measure, leaves other major bills unfinished<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new policy allows only \u201cagency-sponsored materials\u201d to be posted on communal office bulletin boards, but agency officials still say they have discretion to approve or deny other documents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-workforce"],"yoast_head":"\nIRS says a new policy \u2018moots\u2019 NTEU\u2019s First Amendment lawsuit. 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