The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) took a significant step on Tuesday by reinstating 328 federal employees who were facing terminations. This group includes key personnel involved in screening for “black lung” disease in coal miners and addressing health issues for 9/11 first responders. The reinstated employees are affiliated with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a vital division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), dedicated to preventing and responding to work-related illnesses.
Under the previous Trump administration, there was a concerted effort to reduce the size of the federal workforce, resulting in plans to eliminate a majority of NIOSH's over 1,300 employees. Hundreds of NIOSH staffers received termination letters in April and May, although some were temporarily reinstated to complete essential tasks, with their terminations officially remaining in effect for June. On Tuesday, HHS’s acting chief human capital officer, Tom Nagy, informed employees in a memo that their terminations had been “hereby revoked,” as reported by NBC News.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed the reinstatement of the 328 NIOSH employees during a House budget hearing on Wednesday morning. According to Kennedy, approximately one-third of these employees work at a facility in Morgantown, West Virginia, while another third are based in Cincinnati, where NIOSH operates two facilities. “Secretary Kennedy has been working diligently to ensure that the critical functions under NIOSH remain intact,” stated a CDC spokesperson. “The Trump Administration is committed to supporting coal miners and firefighters, and under the Secretary’s leadership, NIOSH’s essential services will continue as HHS streamlines its operations. Ensuring the health and safety of our workforce remains a top priority for the Department.”
The Morgantown facility hosts NIOSH’s Respiratory Health Division, which manages a program providing free X-rays to detect “black lung,” a condition caused by prolonged exposure to coal dust. A U.S. district judge in West Virginia mandated HHS to restore this division and maintain health surveillance for coal miners. During the House budget hearing, Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., announced that 111 NIOSH employees in Morgantown were reinstated this week.
In addition to the NIOSH employees, HHS also reinstated 15 staff members at the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides treatment for various 9/11-related illnesses, including cancer, asthma, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The program's stability had been uncertain in recent months due to staff reductions initiated by the Trump administration, complicating enrollment and treatment confirmations for affected individuals. “Our agency was asked to make very, very serious budget cuts that were going to be painful. Some of them should not have been made, and that was one that should not have, and I reversed it,” Kennedy stated during a Senate budget hearing.
The World Trade Center Health Program resumed processing enrollments on May 1, as per an internal email shared by 9/11 Health Watch, a nonprofit organization monitoring access to the program. However, the group's executive director, Benjamin Chevat, is urging for more definitive assurances regarding the program's future. “Given the history of the last few months, we need to finally get a public assurance from the Secretary that this won’t just happen again and that the World Trade Center Health Program’s work will NOT be impacted any more,” Chevat expressed in an email.
In an agency-wide email sent Tuesday afternoon, NIOSH Director John Howard acknowledged that while some employees were reinstated, others still face elimination. “While we celebrate with those who received a recission letter from HHS, I am mindful that others did not,” Howard wrote. “I am hopeful that we can continue to make the case for reinstating everyone at NIOSH.” Notably, Howard himself received a termination notice in early April, but returned to his position following bipartisan pushback from Congress members regarding his dismissal. An internal breakdown revealed that 56 positions within the NIOSH director’s office were also reinstated on Tuesday.
