A West Virginia federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reverse the terminations of nearly 200 workers who oversee a health monitoring program for coal miners after they were laid off last month.
Judge Irene C. Berger of the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia granted a preliminary injunction compelling HHS to restore all personnel to the Respiratory Health Division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Workers in the division are responsible for screening and reviewing medical examinations submitted by outside providers to determine whether there is evidence that miners have developed a respiratory ailment called pneumoconiosis, more commonly known as black lung disease.
“Testing for, diagnosing, preventing, and researching black lung is a highly specialized field—it simply is not possible to transfer the duties of the RHD employees to others without a period of transition and training,” the judge wrote in her ruling.
“Losing the services of these experienced and dedicated employees is an aspect of the irreparable harm to the miners and the public that cannot and should not be ignored.”
Berger ordered HHS to continue its Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program within NIOSH after finding the department lacked the authority to “unilaterally cancel” it.
Additionally, the judge ordered the restoration of a program called Part 90, which allows miners who present evidence of pneumoconiosis to transfer to less dusty jobs, without a reduction in pay, to protect them from continued exposure.
Berger’s decision comes after nearly 200 workers at the NIOSH facility were placed on administrative leave in April as part of restructuring within HHS. It’s part of wider cost-cutting efforts by the Trump administration that have seen thousands of federal employees across various departments laid off.
Lawsuit Alleges Workers Left Without Critical Protections
The ruling was issued in response to a lawsuit filed against HHS and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April by Harry Wiley, a Raleigh County electrician who works in coal mines.According to the lawsuit, Wiley was diagnosed with black lung disease in November 2024. Federal law mandates that regular health screenings be made available to coal miners.
Wiley argued the job cuts at the Respiratory Health Division meant NIOSH was unable to review applications or offer job transfers, which in turn left him and other miners without critical protections guaranteed under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.
Berger agreed, writing in her ruling that “uncontroverted evidence before the Court overwhelmingly establishes that the mandatory statutory duties cannot effectively be fulfilled without an injunction terminating” the job cuts.
She ordered that, in the event of reorganization, there be no “pause, stoppage or gap in the protections and services mandated by Congress in the Mine Act and the attendant regulations for the health and safety of miners.”
Berger added that HHS failed to present evidence that employees with the qualifications necessary to operate the health monitoring unit screening for black lung exist elsewhere in HHS.
HHS also presented no evidence that individual employees or groups of employees could be terminated without impacting NIOSH’s ability to perform the mandatory duties set forth in the Mine Act and other regulations, she said.
The judge gave Kennedy 20 days to submit written certification proving that HHS has complied with the court’s order.
The Epoch Times has contacted a spokesperson for HHS for comment.
