US EditionJudge orders restoration of jobs in health program for West Virginia coal miners
- U.S. District Judge Irene Berger ordered the restoration of a coal miner health monitoring program in West Virginia on Tuesday, rescinding recent layoffs.
- The layoffs, affecting nearly 200 workers at a NIOSH facility in Morgantown, were part of a Health and Human Services restructuring challenged in a lawsuit by a miner diagnosed with black lung disease.
- The judge's injunction requires restoring jobs in NIOSH's respiratory health division responsible for screening medical exams to detect black lung, with no specified job count.
- Judge Berger ruled that the defendants do not have the authority to discontinue the Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program, emphasizing that halting the program would endanger lives and requiring continuous enforcement of federally mandated protections.
- The directive mandates that Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Demonstrate adherence within 20 days, as the initiative protects miners such as plaintiff Harry Wiley, who was identified with early-stage black lung following 38 years of mining work.
24 Articles
24 Articles
A West Virginia Coal Miner Just Saved NIOSH’s Black Lung Program
A federal judge ordered the restoration of jobs in the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety’s Respiratory Health Division after a veteran coal miner filed a class action lawsuit arguing that the mass firings would lead to irreparable harm.
Judge Orders HHS to Restore Jobs in Health Monitoring Program for West Virginia Coal Miners
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 Natio…
Judge orders W.Va. NIOSH workers for coal miner health back to work after ‘illegal’ action poses risks
CHARLESTON — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the “full restoration” of services at the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety’s Respiratory Health Division, ending a reduction in force that robbed coal miners nationwide who rely on the program…
Charleston Gazette-Mail
The Herald-DispatchJudge orders NIOSH respiratory jobs restored; Congress members report 100+ jobs back
A federal judge on May 13, 2025 granted a request from a Kanawha County man who works at a Raleigh County mine for an order to restore the respiratory health division of a federal research agency that studies worker safety after sweeping cuts from the Trump administration. U.S. District Judge Irene Berger granted the preliminary injunction request from Harry Wiley in the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, ordering that re…
Judge orders restoration of jobs in health program for West Virginia coal miners
A judge on Tuesday ordered the restoration of a health monitoring program for coal miners in West Virginia and rescinded layoffs the federal government implemented in a unit of a small U.S. health agency.
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