January 14, 2026 – The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) announced Wednesday that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reinstated all National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) employees laid off last year. The announcement follows nine months of organizing by the union and labor and public health advocates.

NIOSH is a research agency within HHS that focuses on worker health and safety. It has produced important studies on how meat processing line speed impacts worker injuries; warned industrial dairy employees of the risks of working near manure pits; and provided research to prevent injuries and illnesses among workers in agriculture, forestry, and fishing.

Last spring, HHS laid off about 1,000 employees, about 90 percent of NIOSH’s staff. A month later, about 300 were brought back.

“The administration’s attempt to lay off nearly every NIOSH worker was shameful and illegal, considering that much of NIOSH’s work is required by law,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a press release Wednesday. “As the union representing these dedicated public servants, we are grateful that their jobs have been restored and we will continue fighting to ensure NIOSH has the resources and support it needs to serve the American public.”

In August, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also proposed cutting about 80 percent of NIOSH’s funding and folding the agency into his newly created “Administration for a Healthy America.”

However, his larger reorganization of HHS has been stalled by a pending court case. Drafts of appropriations bills produced by Congress last year maintained NIOSH funding at similar or higher levels than previous years, but the funding bills have yet to be finalized. (Link to this post.)

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