Overview

• Union officials say about 600 CDC employees received permanent termination notices this week, while HHS confirmed notices were sent but declined to give a figure.
• Judge Melissa R. DuBose scaled back an earlier ruling, safeguarding units like the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, the Division of Reproductive Health, and NIOSH while leaving other offices subject to layoffs.
• Roughly 100 staff in the Division of Violence Prevention were cut, along with positions in EEO, FOIA, the Office of Financial Resources, and the chief information and operating offices.
• The actions are part of HHS’s departmentwide restructuring announced in March following April 1 layoff notices, with hundreds of CDC employees later reinstated by June.
• Employees and the AFGE criticized the timing after the Aug. 8 shooting at CDC headquarters and cited poor transparency, as more than 750 current and former HHS staff urged Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to address safety and misinformation.