Mediator Sides With IRS

An outside mediator has sided with the IRS by upholding an agency decision to withhold employee bonuses for 2013. GovExec reports, acting Commissioner Danny Werfel informed agency staff by email. Earlier, Werfel said canceling the bonuses let the agency avoid two furlough days. Employees took three furlough days this summer, instead of five. Werfel estimated the agency would save $70 million by skipping bonuses. The National Treasury Employees Union still says says the IRS is obligated by its contract to pay the bonuses. It's filed a grievance, and says it will take until spring for a decision from an arbitrator.