Federal employees at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) may no longer use “advanced” annual or sick leave, according to multiple reports.

Announced to IRS employees via email on July 24, advanced annual and sick leave approval is suspended, effectively immediately. SSA, led by Frank Bisignano, has reported a similar message. The suspensions are agency-wide and there is no timetable on when – or if – the suspensions may be lifted.

At least for now, the IRS and SSA will no longer accept requests for advanced leave, and all current pending requests are denied. The decision does not impact an employee’s ability to use leave already accrued. Employees are directed to use earned leave balances, a voluntary leave transfer program, or the Family and Medical Leave Act in the meantime.

According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), at their discretion, agencies may advance up to 240 hours (30 days) of sick or annual leave to an employee subject to limitations found on OPM’s website. Some examples of advanced sick leave may include physical or mental illness, injury, pregnancy or childbirth. Advanced leave is traditionally repaid by future accrued leave or methods such as payroll deduction.

The decision to suspend advanced leave at SSA and IRS was met with immediate pushback from the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which filed a grievance and called it “an illegal violation of the collective bargaining agreement.”