Multiple outlets have reported that some NIOSH workers who previously received reduction-in-force (RIF) notices were recently informed that their positions are being reinstated. The recissions of RIF notices affect 328 NIOSH employees, according to NPR. Earlier, CBS News reported that all workers are being reinstated in the NIOSH respiratory health division, division of safety research, division of compensation and analysis support, and the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory.
The news of the reinstatements roughly coincided with testimony to Congress from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, about layoffs undertaken at the department he oversees. The layoffs implemented April 1 affected roughly 10,000 federal employees, including more than ninety percent of the NIOSH workforce. Additional layoffs on May 2 eliminated virtually all remaining NIOSH positions.
The NIOSH layoffs are part of a broad federal reorganization that began earlier this year and is being challenged by multiple lawsuits. This week, a ruling (PDF) by a district court judge in a case (PDF) brought by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Public Health Association temporarily paused the federal reorganization. On May 14, the AFL-CIO announced that it had filed suit to fully restore NIOSH. Others opposing the reorganization through the courts include a group of nineteen states and the District of Columbia.
AFGE, a labor union that represents NIOSH employees, is holding a demonstration on May 22 in Washington, D.C., to support the agency’s work.
Since the April 1 layoffs, AIHA has launched two campaigns to restore NIOSH. The campaigns call for individuals to use the VoterVoice tool on the association’s website to send prefilled template letters expressing support for NIOSH directly to their congressional representatives.