HHS confirmed it is reversing terminations that drew backlash from labor groups, firefighters, miners and other industries

By Mike Stobbe
AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK — Federal officials are reinstating hundreds of U.S. health workers who were laid off last year from a small health agency that aims to protect workers.

In April, President Donald Trump’s administration gutted the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, where scientists, engineers and others conduct research and recommend ways to prevent work-related injury, illness, disability and death.

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Government officials laid off close to 900 of NIOSH’s 1,000 employees. The layoffs were part of the president’s remaking of the federal workforce led by then-adviser Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, but they drew harsh rebukes from firefighters, coal miners, medical equipment manufacturers and a range of others.

Some employees were brought back last year amid legal challenges and political pressure, including those who staffed a health monitoring program for miners in West Virginia. But now all the terminations have been rescinded, according to the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents workers at NIOSH and parts of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The administration’s attempt to lay off nearly every NIOSH worker was shameful and illegal, considering that much of NIOSH’s work is required by law,” AFGE national president Everett Kelley said in a statement.

A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman on Wednesday confirmed that laid-off NIOSH employees were being reinstated.

“The Trump Administration is committed to protecting essential services — whether it’s supporting coal miners and firefighters through NIOSH, safeguarding public health through lead prevention, or researching and tracking the most prevalent communicable diseases,” spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement.

Nixon did not respond to questions about how many workers were being reinstated, why the workers were laid off or why HHS decided to rescind the layoffs. It’s unclear how many of the laid-off NIOSH workers have taken other jobs or decided to retire and won’t be returning, officials said.

It’s likely that many have moved on and won’t be returning, said Michael Barasch, an attorney who represents 9/11 survivors and their families. He has helped clients enroll in the NIOSH World Trade Center Health Program that provides medical monitoring and treatment.

He described the NIOSH layoffs and their impact as “horrifying.” More agency workers may be coming back now, but the layoffs last year delayed diagnosis and treatment and it’s likely that “people died because of these cuts,” he said.

At the end of last year, the CDC had about 10,800 full-time workers, or about 20% fewer than the number with the agency before the April layoffs began, according to the CDC.

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