Attacks on the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Threaten Workers and Families

In April and May, somewhere around 90 percent of [the NIOSH] 1,200 staff received layoff notices as part of the Trump-DOGE massive reductions in force (RIF) effort. This effectively shuttered the agency, ending a half century of its work aimed at protecting workers from getting sick, maimed, or killed on the job.

In response to pressure from unions, states, Congress, the public, and others, as well as successful lawsuits opposing the NIOSH RIFs, Secretary RFK Jr. announced that he would be bringing back a little more than 300 NIOSH staff, including 100 in West Virginia who work on programs protecting coal miners. “The reinstatement follows a May 14 preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Irene Berger, which found that HHS lacked the authority to dismantle the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program. The injunction mandates not only the return of nearly 200 employees but also the full restoration of the program’s services.”

However, an HHS DOGE representative was reported as requiring that, for every employee brought back, another one must be fired in a one-to-one substitute layoff from within the CDC.