HHS reverses NIOSH firings that stripped coal miners' health protections

The Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday reversed the firings of more than 100 federal employees with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the federal institute that helps protect coal miners from black lung, according to Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.

Roughly 200 employees of the NIOSH office in Morgantown, West Virginia, were put on administrative leave in April and informed they would be formally fired in June. Some were temporarily brought back roughly two weeks ago, but until Tuesday they were told they would still be terminated next month.

In a letter sent Tuesday, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News, HHS said, "You previously received a notice regarding the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) upcoming reduction in force (RIF). That notice is hereby revoked. You will not be affected by the upcoming RIF."

The move comes after public pressure from Capito, and follows a series of ABC News reports detailing the impact the firings would have on black lung health care programs for coal miners.

Capito, announcing the reversals on X, said, "The heath and safety of our WV workers, including our miners, is of the utmost important and I will always advocate for their wellbeing."

Critics said the initial firings, part of President Donald Trump's efforts to slash the size of the federal government, belied his vow to reinvigorate America's coal industry.

NIOSH has offices in several other states covering a range of issues from vehicle safety to firefighter health care. It's unclear if any employees in those offices were also rehired.

ABC News reached out to HHS for comment.

The announcement came just hours before a federal judge ordered HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to temporarily halt its dismissal of NIOSH officials who oversee the black lung surveillance program.

"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," U.S. District Judge Irene Berger wrote in her order Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear whether the ruling had anything to do with the Trump administration's decision to reinstate the workers earlier Tuesday.

Judge Berger's ruling came after a veteran coal miner named Henry Wiley, in April, challenged the Trump administration's removal of the NIOSH employees, arguing that terminations endangered him and other miners.

The judge wrote Tuesday that Wiley and a handful of NIOSH officials who testified in a hearing last week persuaded her of the importance of NIOSH's health screening program and a waiver called Part 90, which allows miners with early-stage black lung disease to transfer to roles out of the mines.

If the NIOSH dismissals were allowed to go forward, Berger wrote, "thousands of miners will go without screening for black lung, and those with black lung will be deprived of access to the Part 90 transfer option."

Berger referenced Kennedy directly, writing, "Does the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services genuinely believe that a miner diagnosed with black lung is not being injured when the program designed to confirm his condition and provide him with workplace protections to prevent its progression is rendered inaccessible? This court does not share such a belief."

Berger ordered the Trump administration to grant "full restoration of the NIOSH Respiratory Health Division, rescission of the [reduction in force letters], and compelling continued health surveillance" through the health surveillance program and Part 90.

She gave Kennedy three weeks to report in writing when the court's orders have been satisfied.

In a statement to ABC News, plaintiffs attorney Sam Petsonk said, "This opinion gives life to our foundational principles of judicial review, empowering ordinary citizens like these coal miners to defend their rights."

"We're glad to see the Administration already taking some initial steps in the direction of complying with the order. America's coal miners deserve nothing less, and in fact they deserve a heck of a lot more," Petsonk said.

An HHS spokesperson told ABC News that Kennedy has been working hard to maintain NIOSH's critical functions as HHS streamlines its operations, and that the Trump administration is committed to supporting coal miners and firefighters.