Even in these darkest of days, there is sometimes good news.
Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. and the Trump administration has reversed it deep staffing and program cuts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Bloomberg reporter Josh Eidelson reports that HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon confirmed the reversal in an email Tuesday. In a remarkable change of heart, Nixon assured workers that
“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,” Nixon said in a statement.
An email to a NIOSH employee read: “You previously received a notice regarding the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) reduction in force (RIF). That notice is hereby revoked; you are not affected by the RIF and remain employed in your position of record.”
It’s not completely clear that all laid-off employees have received a reinstatement notice. The American Federation of Government Workers is tracking developments to ensure that all NIOSH employees are reinstated.
HHS announced the virtual elimination of NIOSH on April 1st. The programs reduced or eliminated cut to the core of workplace safety and health in this country. Lost were programs that protect miners from black lung, experts who investigate workplace disease outbreaks and certify respirators, work on heat and musculoskeletal injuries, research on the thousands of chemicals that cause cancer and reproductive damage, and the stress of work on heart diseases, diabetes, obesity and mental health and programs that protect healthcare workers, firefighters, construction workers, fishing workers and many others. The agency also runs the National Firefighter Cancer Registry which tracks exposure-related illness and studies long-term health effects, and studies hazardous exposures, NIOSH funds Educational Resource Centers that provide the only national pipeline for training future workplace health and safety experts.
But much damage has been done. After ten months of chaos, putting Humpty together again will not be easy. Major research projects have been interrupted and won’t be easily resumed. Many former NIOSH staff have moved on to other jobs. As Micah Niemeier-Walsh, an American Federation of Government Employees local vice president and NIOSH industrial hygienist in Ohio said, “We have to rebuild.”
Why the Reversal?
It is important to not that this reversal did not come from the goodness of RFK Jr’s heart. Union action, including demonstrations and rallies by union members and public health advocates, lawsuits, numerous powerful media stories detailing tragic stories of lives lost and health damaged (just a few examples here, here and here), and strong opposition to the cuts from Congressional Democrats (and even a few Republicans) forced the Trump Administration’s hands.
The reversal did not come from the goodness of RFK Jr’s heart. Union action, including demonstrations and rallies by union and public health advocates, lawsuits, numerous powerful media stories detailing tragic stories of lives lost and health damaged, and strong opposition to the cuts from Congressional Democrats (and even a few Republicans) forced the Trump Administration’s hands.
The cracks started forming early. In May, RFK Jr testified that he restoring 328 of those slated for termination, but that it was a “moral imperative” to downsize his “metastasizing” cabinet agency. Lawsuits and a widespread public outcry forced the agency to start restoring parts of the agency, especially those offices working on protecting coal miners from Black Lung disease. Trump’s budget then proposed cutting 80% of NIOSH’s budget.
Republicans in the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, responding to the nationwide outcry against the cuts, proposed a budget with “only” a 14% cut. Senate appropriators, with the strong support of Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) weren’t having any of it. The Senate, which requires bipartisan cooperation to pass a budget, proposed restoring 100% of NIOSH’s funding.
But we can’t let our guard down. We’re barely one year into the Trump administration and attacks on worker protections will undoubtedly continue. We still haven’t seen the final FY 2026 budget yet, and severe cuts to OSHA and MSHA may still be on the table. MSHA is still not enforcing its silica standard and OSHA is facing regulatory rollbacks.
We need to keep the pressure on.