HHS Reverses NIOSH Staffing Cuts

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reinstated hundreds of NIOSH staff whose positions were previously terminated. HHS initially sent reduction-in-force notices on April 1, 2025, to 90 percent of the NIOSH workforce of approximately 1,000 employees. According to a press release published yesterday by the American Federation of Government Employees, “HHS reversed course completely, revoking all layoff notices” sent to NIOSH staff.

The restoration came as a welcome surprise to NIOSH allies.

“AIHA’s Board of Directors, staff, and members are delighted that the dedicated scientists at NIOSH are being brought back to resume their crucial work,” said AIHA CEO Lawrence Sloan. “NIOSH is the world’s foremost research agency for occupational and environmental health and safety, and its loss would be devastating for workers everywhere.”

The layoffs last April sparked immediate opposition from organizations like AIHA, worker safety advocates, labor unions, and some members of Congress. Multiple lawsuits were brought against HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. alleging that the firings were illegal.

AIHA’s “Restore NIOSH” campaign, launched soon after the layoffs were announced, encouraged members and other OEHS professionals to advocate on the agency’s behalf. A tool on the AIHA website allowed users to send letters of support for NIOSH directly to their senators and congressional representatives. Within weeks, users had sent thousands of messages. Resources added to the AIHA website included background information about essential NIOSH programs, such as the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods, the NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards, and the certified equipment list, which verifies whether a respirator model is approved for workplace use.

AIHA later initiated new campaigns that called on Congress to preserve NIOSH funding and to support other OEHS agencies such as OSHA, MSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, and the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. In all, more than 9,900 letters were generated through AIHA’s campaigns.

The reinstatement of some 300 NIOSH staff in May suggested a turn in the agency’s fortunes. But the employment status of the reinstated workers remained unclear as courts considered legal challenges, and the HHS budget for fiscal year 2026 presented to Congress later that month included an 80 percent reduction in NIOSH funding.

Then came this week’s stunning reversal, first reported on Tuesday by Bloomberg.

While celebrating the return of NIOSH, Sloan cautioned that the agency’s allies need to maintain their resolve.

“Over the last nine months, we’ve been forced to contemplate what a world without NIOSH would look like,” he said. “We need to keep that image in mind moving forward as we work to ensure that something like this never happens again.”