Particle.news

Download on the App Store

HHS Reinstates Over 450 CDC Employees After April Layoffs

Revoking April termination notices follows court orders to halt flawed workforce cuts

Overview

  • The reinstatements account for nearly one-fifth of the roughly 2,400 CDC positions eliminated in the mass reduction in force this spring
  • More than 200 employees returned to the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis Prevention and 158 to the National Center for Environmental Health
  • Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said some terminations were mistakes and that rehiring staff was always part of the reorganization plan
  • Key public health programs on lead poisoning prevention, infectious disease surveillance and workplace safety were disrupted by the initial cuts
  • Advocates warn that restoring a few hundred roles falls short of fully repairing gaps in disease tracking and environmental health capacity