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HHS Rescinds NIOSH Layoffs, Reinstating Hundreds of Workplace-Safety Staff

The sudden reversal sets up a difficult rebuild after last year's mass terminations.

FILE - 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, File)
A man casts a shadow as he walks toward the Hubert H. Humphrey Building, headquarters of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 1, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Overview

  • HHS notified affected National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health employees this week that their reduction‑in‑force notices were revoked, with staff returning to active duty after confirmations from department spokespeople.
  • The reinstatement includes more than 170 federal personnel focused on mine safety, with HHS saying NIOSH’s full staff is restored except those who voluntarily left government.
  • Officials have not explained the rationale for the reversal, while multiple lawsuits over the 2025 layoffs continue and legal experts have called aspects of the RIF process irregular.
  • NIOSH faces significant rebuilding as projects were disrupted for months and many former employees have retired or taken other jobs.
  • On the same day, HHS informed thousands of SAMHSA grantees that 2,500 to 2,900 awards were canceled and about $1.9 billion in unobligated funds were clawed back, even as NIOSH’s workforce was restored.