MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — NIOSH jobs have been reinstated.
The federal workers union, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3840, announced the development late Wednesday morning.
NIOSH has a large facility in Morgantown where several thousand workers lost their jobs through DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) moves not long after President Donald Trump took office last year.
AFGE said after nine months of sustained organizing and collective action, layoffs within the Centers for Disease Control have been rescinded. All employees at NIOSH who received layoff notices have been fully reinstated.
“When everybody in NIOSH was gone we were wondering who is going to take care of our workforce,” retired NIOSH worker Anita Wolfe said on MetroNews Midday. ” There’s noboby left to do research to make it safer and it was almost like a dream, it couldn’t be happening.”
AFGE Local 3840 Vice President Dr. Micah Niemeier-Walsh said the victory belongs to ever worker who refused to stay silent.
“Every rally, every media interview, every petition signature, every act of solidarity by NIOSH employees and our partners in the labor movement led to this victory of saving NIOSH,” Niemeier-Walsh said in a news release.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services started the process to reduce the workforce by more than 90 percent or about 1,000 employees including scientists, engineers, and technical experts critical to the nation’s workplace safety and public health infrastructure. Monday, January 13, 2026, the federal government scrapped the plan and revoked all layoff notices.
Since April, the union, labor advocates, and public health experts have kept the focus on the important work they do for the American workforce. That resulted in the reinstatement of 328 NIOSH workers in May 2025.
The union said the decision by the federal government will keep the vital programs that protect all working people, including mine safety research, chemical hazard assessment, and research on emerging occupational risks.
Wolfe said she had no idea what made the federal government to reverse course but should couldn’t help but think the efforts of U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Second District Congressman Riley Moore played a major role.
“She (Capito) took on her own party to make this happen,” Wolfe said. “She never gave up on us or the coal miners of America and the same for Riley Moore he was right there helping.”
“The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is a small but vital federal agency that helps prevent employee injuries, illnesses, and deaths at workplaces nationwide,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. “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. 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.”
Local 3840 officials will continue to demand full restoration of funding to all NIOSH programs, renewal and rehiring of Title 42 fellows, protection of scientific integrity and research independence, recognition of collective bargaining agreements, and resuming workplace flexibilities.