The Trump administration has rescinded layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agency that works to prevent illness and injury in U.S. workplaces, reinstating hundreds of employees.
Workers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health affected by the staffing cuts last spring received emails on Tuesday saying that their layoff notices have been revoked, according to two sources at the agency.
An HHS spokesperson confirmed the reinstatements.
NIOSH researches and makes recommendations around preventing work-related injuries or illnesses, including setting exposure limits for toxic chemicals, approving respiratory masks like N95s and overseeing support programs for first responders to disasters like 9/11.
At the end of 2024, NIOSH employed about 1,000 employees in Washington, D.C. and in field offices around the country.
However, the agency was caught up in the Trump administration’s chaotic downsizing of the federal workforce last year. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. sought to terminate 10,000 employees of the massive healthcare department, including about 90% of NIOSH staff — at least 900 workers.
But now, the HHS is reversing course, informing NIOSH workers who received reduction-in-force notices in April that their employment with the government stands some 10 months later.
“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,” reads one email to an affected NIOSH employee reviewed by Healthcare Dive.
The NIOSH cuts threw workplace safety research into disarray and were met with fierce criticism from labor organizations, lawmakers and occupational safety groups. Amid the blowback, Kennedy informed lawmakers that he had brought back more than 300 NIOSH workers affected by the layoffs in May. However, the secretary then proposed a budget that would eliminate 80% of NIOSH’s funding.
Reinstating NIOSH workers now won’t patch over the harm done to the agency, according to one scientist affected by the layoffs granted anonymity to speak openly without fear of retribution.
Many NIOSH staffers are unlikely to return to the agency after finding other jobs or retiring following the RIFs, they noted. Still, the scientist plans to return to the division — at least for now — given the difficult job market.
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon did not respond to questions about why the department was revoking the NIOSH layoffs, or why it is taking this action now.
The HHS is battling multiple lawsuits over the RIFs, which were highly irregular and may be illegal, according to legal experts.
“The nation’s critical public health functions remain intact and effective” under Kennedy’s leadership, Nixon said in a statement Wednesday morning. “Enhancing the health and well-being of all Americans remains our top priority.”
