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HHS Reinstates Coal Miner Health Workers Following Court Order

Federal judge mandates restoration of NIOSH staff and black lung protections, reversing widespread layoffs within HHS.

A miner diagnosed with advanced black lung diease, stands inside an old water well near his home in Hinton, West Virginia, U.S., April 13, 2025. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo
People rally on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in support of some 185 researchers and other employees of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Morgantown, W.Va., who received reduction-in-force notices as part of a larger push by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to dismiss 10,000 federal employees. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Coal on barges on the Monongahela River in Clairton, Penn., on Sept. 9, 2024.
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Overview

  • Nearly 200 NIOSH employees responsible for coal miner health screening were reinstated after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction reversing their layoffs.
  • The ruling restores the Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program, mandated by federal law to provide black lung screenings and job transfer options for miners diagnosed with the disease.
  • HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed the reinstatement of 328 employees across NIOSH divisions, including over 100 in Morgantown, West Virginia.
  • The layoffs, part of a broader HHS restructuring effort, had disrupted critical safety functions, including respirator certification and firefighter protective gear testing.
  • The court order underscores the resurgence of black lung disease, with one in five coal miners in Central Appalachia affected, including younger workers in their 30s.