Judge Orders HHS to Restore Jobs in Health Monitoring Program for West Virginia Coal Miners

The workers were laid off earlier this year as part of restructuring efforts.

People rally in support of some 185 researchers and other employees of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Morgantown, W.Va., on April 23, 2025. Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo

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.