Interior Sec Deb Haaland Says She Has Not Asked Employees To Come Back To Work In Office Full-Time

A member of Congress challenged Interior Secretary Deb Haaland during April 2023 testimony about the Department’s response to President Biden’s signing of Rep. Paul Gosar’s bill ending the COVID-19 national emergency on April 10 — asking how soon after the signing Haaland ordered Interior headquarters employees back to work. Haaland admitted she had “not placed an order to tell everyone to come in, 9 to 5 Monday through Friday,” despite her own testimony about staffing shortages at her Department.

The National Emergency End

April 10 signing: April 10 bill signing.
Rep. Gosar bill: Rep. Paul Gosar’s bill.
COVID emergency end: COVID emergency end.
Legal status change: Legal status change.
Administrative implication: Administrative implication.

The Timing Question

Order timeline: Order timeline.
Administrative action: Administrative action.
Headquarters focus: Headquarters focus.
Department response: Department response.
Implementation tracking: Implementation tracking.

Haaland’s Admission

“Not placed an order”: “Not placed an order.”
Full-time absence: Full-time absence.
9-to-5 framing: 9-to-5 framing.
Monday-Friday absence: Monday-Friday absence.
Administrative inaction: Administrative inaction.

The Field Work Argument

Field employees: Field employees.
Public lands: Public lands work.
Outdoor requirements: Outdoor requirements.
Job description: Job description.
Administrative defense: Administrative defense.

The Headquarters Specifics

Headquarters employees: Headquarters employees.
Office workers: Office workers.
Administrative staff: Administrative staff.
Central operations: Central operations.
Specific focus: Specific focus.

The Teleworking Continuation

“Several days”: “Several days out of the week.”
Hybrid work: Hybrid work arrangement.
Telework practice: Telework practice.
Work flexibility: Work flexibility.
Administrative policy: Administrative policy.

The Staffing Shortage

Testimony contradiction: Testimony contradiction.
Efficiency concerns: Efficiency concerns.
Office vs. home: Office vs. home efficiency.
Administrative burden: Administrative burden.
Resource limitation: Resource limitation.

The Republican Logic

Efficiency argument: Efficiency argument.
Taxpayer interest: Taxpayer interest.
Workplace presence: Workplace presence.
Productive work: Productive work.
Public service: Public service.

The Gosar Bill

Representative action: Representative action.
Congressional authority: Congressional authority.
Bill passage: Bill passage.
Legal framework: Legal framework.
Administrative reform: Administrative reform.

The Federal Workplace Policy

Telework evolution: Telework evolution.
COVID accommodation: COVID accommodation.
Post-emergency: Post-emergency framework.
Federal practice: Federal practice.
Management discretion: Management discretion.

The Administration Position

Flexible workplace: Flexible workplace.
Employee choice: Employee choice.
Productivity assumption: Productivity assumption.
Modern practice: Modern practice.
Institutional reform: Institutional reform.

The Republican Critique

Workplace standards: Workplace standards.
Public servants: Public servant expectations.
Taxpayer value: Taxpayer value.
Efficiency concerns: Efficiency concerns.
Accountability expectations: Accountability expectations.

The Policy Framework

Federal Workforce: Federal Workforce policy.
OPM guidance: OPM guidance.
Agency discretion: Agency discretion.
Employee rights: Employee rights.
Public service: Public service.

The Interior Department Context

Department size: Department size.
Geographic distribution: Geographic distribution.
Field operations: Field operations.
Headquarters operations: Headquarters operations.
Work variety: Work variety.

The Haaland Defense

Work distinction: Work distinction.
Field emphasis: Field emphasis.
Hybrid acceptance: Hybrid acceptance.
Administrative flexibility: Administrative flexibility.
Management approach: Management approach.

The Oversight Dynamics

Committee questioning: Committee questioning.
Professional examination: Professional examination.
Policy review: Policy review.
Administrative accountability: Administrative accountability.
Democratic function: Democratic function.

The Political Dimension

Remote work debate: Remote work debate.
Government efficiency: Government efficiency.
Taxpayer interest: Taxpayer interest.
Union considerations: Union considerations.
Electoral positioning: Electoral positioning.

The Productivity Questions

Office presence: Office presence.
Collaboration benefits: Collaboration benefits.
Remote effectiveness: Remote effectiveness.
Team dynamics: Team dynamics.
Mission accomplishment: Mission accomplishment.

The Federal Workforce Debate

Return-to-office push: Return-to-office push.
Union resistance: Union resistance.
Management flexibility: Management flexibility.
Productivity metrics: Productivity metrics.
Policy evolution: Policy evolution.

The Administrative Discretion

Agency authority: Agency authority.
Policy implementation: Policy implementation.
Employee relations: Employee relations.
Management practice: Management practice.
Institutional culture: Institutional culture.

The Broader Context

Private sector: Private sector trends.
Federal employment: Federal employment.
Economic impact: Economic impact.
Commercial real estate: Commercial real estate.
Urban economies: Urban economies.

Key Takeaways

Interior Sec. Haaland admitted she had not ordered employees back to full-time office work.
The question came after Biden signed Rep. Gosar’s bill ending COVID-19 national emergency April 10.
Haaland said she had not placed order for “9 to 5 Monday through Friday” attendance.
She noted many employees work in field on public lands.
A member noted her own testimony about short staffing suggested office work would be more efficient.
The exchange reflected ongoing federal workforce return-to-office debate.

Transcript Highlights

The following quotations are drawn from an AI-generated Whisper transcript of the hearing and should be considered unverified pending official transcript release.

“On April the 10th, President Biden signed Representative Gosar’s bill ending the COVID-19 national emergency. Secretary, how soon after he signed that bill did you order all of the Department of Interior headquarters employees back into the office?” — Member framing
“A lot of our employees work out in the field. That’s their jobs to be on our public lands.” — Secretary Haaland
“The ones that are in the headquarters though, have they been ordered back into the office?” — Member follow-up
“There’s still some members of our team who are working, or tell a working, several days out of the week.” — Secretary Haaland
“I have not placed an order to tell everyone to come in, 9 to 5 Monday through Friday.” — Secretary Haaland
“Most of your testimony in days down by how short staffed you are, I would think they would be more efficient working from the office in the headquarters instead of from the house.” — Member framing

Full transcript: 169 words transcribed via Whisper AI.