Lawmaker Raises Concerns Over NIOSH Layoffs and Impact on Worker Health Programs
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito urges HHS to reinstate laid-off NIOSH employees in Morgantown, citing coal miner health concerns.
- By Stasia DeMarco
- Apr 22, 2025
U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va) has sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging the department to reinstate recently laid-off employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Morgantown, W.Va.
The letter follows the April 1 reduction in force (RIF) that affected staff involved in coal miner health research and safety programs. Capito, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, emphasized the importance of NIOSH’s role in protecting coal miners from workplace hazards.
“The mission and work conducted by the specially trained NIOSH employees is not duplicative of any other government program,” Capito wrote. “I am concerned that the RIFs at NIOSH will undermine the vital health programs important to so many West Virginians.”
The Morgantown NIOSH facility has long been home to research on occupational hazards such as coal and silica dust exposure, black lung disease, mine collapses, and explosion prevention. Capito said that all employees involved in these programs were affected by the layoffs, which could lead to the decommissioning of labs focused on miner health and safety.
Capito noted that these labs also conduct research relevant to other at-risk groups, including construction workers and residents impacted by mold exposure and storm-related environmental hazards. She warned that decommissioning and potentially restarting these labs would cost taxpayers significantly.
The senator also referenced recent executive actions by President Trump supporting domestic coal production and argued that occupational safety efforts must continue alongside energy policy initiatives.
HHS has not yet publicly responded to the letter or clarified the future of the Morgantown facility.
The full letter is available on Capito’s official Senate
website.
About the Author
Stasia DeMarco is the Content Editor for OH&S.