Latest news with #CWHSP
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NIOSH head: Workers back at black lung program, efforts continue to restore services cut by DOGE
The NIOSH Coal Worker's Health Surveillance Program offered periodic black lung screenings at no cost to coal miners in the U.S. (NIOSH photo) A certification was entered in federal court this week proving that at least 50 employees at the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety's Respiratory Health Division have had their terminations rescinded, meeting requirements set in a court order last month. Those returning to work include 'most' employees who worked within the RHD before April 1, which is when reduction in force notices were issued throughout multiple NIOSH divisions as a result of the new federal Department of Government Efficiency's cost-saving measures. Many of those workers were slated to be terminated on Monday, the same day NIOSH director John J. Howard signed and filed the certification in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. The certification was entered to meet requirements in a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Irene Berger last month. That injunction came from a class action lawsuit filed on April 7 against the federal government and led by Harry Wiley, a Raleigh County coal miner. In May, Wiley's attorneys argued in a hearing that the closure of the CWHSP by DOGE meant responsibilities mandated by congress for coal worker health and safety were illegally going undone, robbing Wiley and other coal miners of their hard-fought rights. The federal government argued that the stoppage at the CWHSP and other NIOSH divisions was only temporary as the federal Department of Health and Human Services worked through a 'reorganization.' Berger ruled in favor of Wiley and the other coal miners. She ordered that all RHD employees return to work and that the division — including the CWHSP — continue all work congressionally mandated by the federal Mine Safety and Health Act. If there are future moves to 'reorganize' the agency, Berger ordered that there must be 'no pause, stoppage, or gap in the protections and services mandated to be performed by the RHD.' That work includes providing free black lung screenings and certifying black lung x-ray results for miners like Wiley who have been diagnosed with black lung disease so they can exercise their Part 90 rights. Part 90 allows miners who have black lung to be transferred to a different, less dusty part of a coal mine without facing repercussions from their employers. NIOSH is the only agency that can certify test results for miners to receive a Part 90 transfer. In the certification declaration on Monday, Howard said that the agency is once again accepting test results necessary to certify Part 90 transfer requests. But other work, according to the certification declaration, has yet to return completely. Howard wrote that NIOSH was 'working through' the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal DHHS to 'fully restore' several of the RHD's functions. Those functions include reestablishing contracts necessary for RHD to offer, review and manage chest x-rays through its mobile clinic; promoting events to alert miners of the free testing opportunities and ensuring funding can be accessed and spent for the agency to meet its requirements. On Tuesday, according to WV MetroNews, Sam Petsonk — one of several attorneys representing the miners in the case — told 'Talk of the Town' on WAJR Radio that it's critical for all CWHSP services to return as soon as possible. 'They say they're trying. They say that they understand the court has ordered them to do this, but they have not restored the X-ray reading programs, the mobile unit that travels around the coal mines,' Petsonk said. '… We are experiencing hundreds of layoffs across the mining industry right now. This is just the moment where miners often look to see what kind of lung damage they have so that they can take stock before they find their next job. And we really need these programs right now, and we don't have them.' The CDC estimates that about 20% of coal miners in Central Appalachia are suffering from black lung — the highest rate detected in more than 25 years. One in 20 of the region's coal miners are living with the most severe form of the condition. And the resurgence of black lung is hitting coal miners at younger ages than ever before. This is due to miners, because of a lack of easily accessible coal, being forced to dig through more silica-rich sandstone than their predecessors in order to reach what little coal remains. While the RHD employees are back to work, other fights are continuing against the federal government's cuts. Workers and those affected by the services they provide have been decrying the cuts for weeks now, saying they'll leave people in certain industries — including mining, firefighting and more — vulnerable to preventable accidents and illnesses. Some of these fights, like that for the CWHSP, have already proven successful. Last week, following continued pushback from black lung organizations and other mining advocates, the Trump administration reversed its plan to close 34 Mine Safety and Health Administration offices nationwide. Those offices employ mine inspectors whose jobs are to ensure that coal mine operators are meeting industry standards known to lower the risks of accidents and injuries for coal miners. But other battles have proven more difficult. In Pennsylvania, workers at the Pittsburgh-based Mining Research Division within NIOSH — which studies the best ways to prevent injuries, illnesses and death in coal mines — are still slated to be terminated. Several of the services that are now going undone at NIOSH as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are congressionally mandated through the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Multiple labor unions — including the United Mine Workers of America — filed suit on May 14 against DHHS and the federal government. They're using similar arguments to Wiley's attorneys, which proved successful in getting services started back up: since the cuts are stopping work that is required by Congress, they say, they are illegal and should be reversed.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Judge orders NIOSH workers for coal miner health back to work after ‘illegal' action poses risks
U.S. District Court Judge Irene Berger said the federal Department of Health and Human Services could not legally end services at NIOSH's Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program, which was started by Congress (NIOSH | Courtesy photo) 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 of options to prevent further illness and injury. U.S. District Judge Irene Berger issued Tuesday's preliminary injunction as part of ongoing litigation in a class action lawsuit filed by coal miners against the federal government over the closure of the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program, a department within NIOSH's Respiratory Health Division. Workers at the CWHSP, as well as numerous other NIOSH departments and divisions, have been on administrative leave since April due to 'reorganizations' happening at the federal level. Permanent terminations for most employees were scheduled to occur in June and July as part of cost-saving measures instituted by the new federal Department of Government Efficiency. Berger's order on Tuesday directed the federal Department of Health and Human Services to do three things: rescind all RIFs issued to workers in the Respiratory Health Division at NIOSH, continue all work mandated by the federal Mine Safety and Health Act without 'pause, stoppage or gap' if and when the federal government continues efforts to 'reorganize' itself and have DHHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. submit a written certification to the court in 20 days showing that the federal government is complying with its orders. Job cuts reversed at Pittsburgh lab that certifies nation's respirators At a hearing for the case in Charleston last week, coal miners testified that, without staffing at the CWHSP, they are unable to exercise rights afforded to them through the federal Mine Act. Utilizing those rights — which have existed for decades and are mandated through an act of Congress — requires action by NIOSH's CWHSP. But since April 1, the department has been unstaffed. Some workers were told to return to work in early May. But last week they were once again put back on leave. On Tuesday, hours before Berger's order was filed, members of West Virginia's congressional delegation announced that at least 100 NIOSH workers were returning to work permanently. Without any workers, coal miners across the country have been unable to have black lung screening results certified by NIOSH. That certification is necessary for miners with black lung to qualify for a Part 90 transfer, which allows them to move to a different, less dusty part of a mine without retribution — including a cut in pay, hours or benefits — from their employers. Attorneys for the miners have argued that the rights afforded to coal miners to access free black lung screenings and secure transfers once diagnosed, among other services, cannot be stopped just because the federal government is going through a reorganization. Berger agreed, saying Kennedy and DHHS 'lack the authority to unilaterally cancel the CWHSP' since it exists to serve a responsibility mandated by congress. '[DHHS and Kennedy] do not indicate how many extra months of dust inhalation, in their considered judgment, is acceptable for a miner with black lung while the program Congress established to eliminate that risk is 'paused,'' Berger wrote. Attorneys for the federal government argued that the lawsuit should be thrown out because it deals with employees angry over being terminated, which does not justify a federal class action suit. Berger called those claims 'patently absurd,' saying the plaintiffs in the case are not employees, but are beneficiaries of programs that were stopped through 'illegal agency action' at DHHS. Coal miners could pay for savings if inspectors lose offices on DOGE list, advocates warn The federal government also alleged that services ending at NIOSH and specifically the CWHSP were temporary and couldn't be construed as being a final agency action. They maintained that, since those services were likely to return, there was no immediate harm present that necessitated a preliminary injunction. In her order, however, Berger, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, again disagreed and noted that the federal government repeatedly failed to show evidence outlining how CWHSP's services would be resumed, when that would happen or in what manner. She wrote that testimony from NIOSH employees and the case's lead plaintiff, Harry Wiley, presented 'overwhelming evidence' that the work had been stopped — not just paused. 'The [federal government's] evidence consisted solely of press releases regarding a planned reorganization of HHS that contained no mention of the programs at issue. Thus, the only evidence before the Court is that the CWHSP and the RHD have been shut down,' Berger wrote. That shut down, she said, presented clear harm as miners with black lung like Wiley were being continually exposed to dangerous coal dust despite congressional actions existing that are meant to shield them from such. 'As the testimony before the Court made clear, that dust exposure will cause [Wiley's] disease to progress until it becomes debilitating. Does [Kennedy] 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?' Berger wrote. 'This Court does not share such a belief.' There is no cure and limited treatment options for black lung. The only adequate intervention for people who have the disease, experts say, is limiting exposure to dangerous coal dust that is known to exacerbate it. Wiley lives in Kanawha County but works in a Raleigh County mine as a mine electrician. A miner for 38 years, Wiley was diagnosed with black lung disease in November 2024 by a local clinic. He sent the results to NIOSH to start proceedings to be approved for a Part 90 transfer. In December, according to evidence submitted to the court, NIOSH sent a letter to Wiley saying a CT scan from October 2023 did not show findings of black lung. Wiley testified that he never received this letter. He called NIOSH multiple times to follow up on his transfer request and got no response. If he had known they were looking at an outdated scan, he told the court, he would have submitted additional evidence to verify his black lung diagnosis and secure his Part 90 letter. And if the CWHSP were still functional, he said, he would have accessed a free screening through the agency. Instead, Wiley — and every other miner in the country who has been unable to contact or work with NIOSH over recent months for a Part 90 transfer — has been forced to continue working in dustier parts of the mine. Berger said it's clear, given how black lung develops and the lack of treatments for it, that keeping the CWHSP functional is overwhelmingly and 'strongly' in the public's interest. '[NIOSH epidemiologists] testified that they are seeing more miners with black lung, and more cases that progress quickly. They also testified that their work, and the work of the CWHSP as a whole, saves lives,' Berger said. 'The necessary inverse of that testimony is that cancelling the CWHSP will cost lives. Remaining in a dusty job may reduce the years in which Mr. Wiley can walk and breathe unassisted, in addition to hastening his death. It is difficult to imagine a clearer case of irreparable harm.' This story is republished from West Virginia Watch, a sister publication to the Kentucky Lantern and part of the nonprofit States Newsroom network.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Judge orders WV NIOSH workers for coal miner health back to work after ‘illegal' action poses risks
U.S. District Court Judge Irene Berger said the federal Department of Health and Human Services could not legally end services at NIOSH's Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program, which was started by Congress (NIOSH | Courtesy photo) 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 of options to prevent further illness and injury. U.S. District Judge Irene Berger issued Tuesday's preliminary injunction as part of ongoing litigation in a class action lawsuit filed by coal miners against the federal government over the closure of the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program, a department within NIOSH's Respiratory Health Division. Workers at the CWHSP, as well as numerous other NIOSH departments and divisions, have been on administrative leave since April due to 'reorganizations' happening at the federal level. Permanent terminations for most employees were scheduled to occur in June and July as part of cost-saving measures instituted by the new federal Department of Government Efficiency. Berger's order on Tuesday directed the federal Department of Health and Human Services to do three things: rescind all RIFs issued to workers in the Respiratory Health Division at NIOSH, continue all work mandated by the federal Mine Safety and Health Act without 'pause, stoppage or gap' if and when the federal government continues efforts to 'reorganize' itself and have DHHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. submit a written certification to the court in 20 days showing that the federal government is complying with its orders. At a hearing for the case in Charleston last week, coal miners testified that, without staffing at the CWHSP, they are unable to exercise rights afforded to them through the federal Mine Act. Utilizing those rights — which have existed for decades and are mandated through an act of Congress — requires action by NIOSH's CWHSP. But since April 1, the department has been unstaffed. Some workers were told to return to work in early May. But last week they were once again put back on leave. On Tuesday, hours before Berger's order was filed, members of West Virginia's congressional delegation announced that at least 100 NIOSH workers were returning to work permanently. Without any workers, coal miners across the country have been unable to have black lung screening results certified by NIOSH. That certification is necessary for miners with black lung to qualify for a Part 90 transfer, which allows them to move to a different, less dusty part of a mine without retribution — including a cut in pay, hours or benefits — from their employers. Attorneys for the miners have argued that the rights afforded to coal miners to access free black lung screenings and secure transfers once diagnosed, among other services, cannot be stopped just because the federal government is going through a reorganization. Berger agreed, saying Kennedy and DHHS 'lack the authority to unilaterally cancel the CWHSP' since it exists to serve a responsibility mandated by congress. '[DHHS and Kennedy] do not indicate how many extra months of dust inhalation, in their considered judgment, is acceptable for a miner with black lung while the program Congress established to eliminate that risk is 'paused,'' Berger wrote. Attorneys for the federal government argued that the lawsuit should be thrown out because it deals with employees angry over being terminated, which does not justify a federal class action suit. Berger called those claims 'patently absurd,' saying the plaintiffs in the case are not employees, but are beneficiaries of programs that were stopped through 'illegal agency action' at DHHS. The federal government also alleged that services ending at NIOSH and specifically the CWHSP were temporary and couldn't be construed as being a final agency action. They maintained that, since those services were likely to return, there was no immediate harm present that necessitated a preliminary injunction. In her order, however, Berger again disagreed and noted that the federal government repeatedly failed to show evidence outlining how CWHSP's services would be resumed, when that would happen or in what manner. She wrote that testimony from NIOSH employees and the case's lead plaintiff, Harry Wiley, presented 'overwhelming evidence' that the work had been stopped — not just paused. 'The [federal government's] evidence consisted solely of press releases regarding a planned reorganization of HHS that contained no mention of the programs at issue. Thus, the only evidence before the Court is that the CWHSP and the RHD have been shut down,' Berger wrote. That shut down, she said, presented clear harm as miners with black lung like Wiley were being continually exposed to dangerous coal dust despite congressional actions existing that are meant to shield them from such. 'As the testimony before the Court made clear, that dust exposure will cause [Wiley's] disease to progress until it becomes debilitating. Does [Kennedy] 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?' Berger wrote. 'This Court does not share such a belief.' There is no cure and limited treatment options for black lung. The only adequate intervention for people who have the disease, experts say, is limiting exposure to dangerous coal dust that is known to exacerbate it. Wiley lives in Kanawha County but works in a Raleigh County mine as a mine electrician. A miner for 38 years, Wiley was diagnosed with black lung disease in November 2024 by a local clinic. He sent the results to NIOSH to start proceedings to be approved for a Part 90 transfer. In December, according to evidence submitted to the court, NIOSH sent a letter to Wiley saying a CT scan from October 2023 did not show findings of black lung. Wiley testified that he never received this letter. He called NIOSH multiple times to follow up on his transfer request and got no response. If he had known they were looking at an outdated scan, he told the court, he would have submitted additional evidence to verify his black lung diagnosis and secure his Part 90 letter. And if the CWHSP were still functional, he said, he would have accessed a free screening through the agency. Instead, Wiley — and every other miner in the country who has been unable to contact or work with NIOSH over recent months for a Part 90 transfer — has been forced to continue working in dustier parts of the mine. Berger said it's clear, given how black lung develops and the lack of treatments for it, that keeping the CWHSP functional is overwhelmingly and 'strongly' in the public's interest. '[NIOSH epidemiologists] testified that they are seeing more miners with black lung, and more cases that progress quickly. They also testified that their work, and the work of the CWHSP as a whole, saves lives,' Berger said. 'The necessary inverse of that testimony is that cancelling the CWHSP will cost lives. Remaining in a dusty job may reduce the years in which Mr. Wiley can walk and breathe unassisted, in addition to hastening his death. It is difficult to imagine a clearer case of irreparable harm.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
WV coal miners ask federal judge for injunction to keep NIOSH functioning to protect from black lung
The NIOSH Coal Worker's Health Surveillance Program offered periodic black lung screenings at no cost to coal miners in the U.S. (NIOSH photo) As the federal government moves forward with a 'reorganization' that has left the Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program largely unstaffed, attorneys for West Virginia coal miners are asking a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction to keep the program running and grant miners a protection against developing dangerous black lung disease. In a hearing Wednesday, attorneys for the coal miners argued that the shutdown of the CWHSP — which operates within the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health — means the government is not meeting its legal obligation to coal miners or others as the work the agency is statutorily required to do is no longer being performed. Attorneys for the federal government argued that the closure of the CWHSP — as well as other departments within NIOSH — is temporary. Workers were notified that they were to be on administrative leave on April 1. Last week, some were told to return to work. But this week they were once again moved back to leave and permanent terminations are slated to take place come June. NIOSH as well as the services performed in it, attorneys for the government said, will eventually return in a reorganized form under the federal Department of Health and Human Services. As such, they contended that the lawsuit on behalf of coal miners was premature. Those testifying during Wednesday's hearing in front of U.S. District Judge Irene Berger included coal miners, epidemiologists from the CWHSP and supervisors from within NIOSH. No one, including the attorneys representing the federal government, provided details or a timeline for when the agency would resume the duties it is required by law to perform. Laura Reynolds, a supervisor over the CWHSP, was asked if she was aware of any plans or discussions happening to transfer the agency's services to DHHS. Her response was one word: 'No.' Scott Laney, who worked as an epidemiologist at NIOSH, said the community of researchers and providers qualified to do the work done by those at the CWHSP is quite small. He hasn't heard of anyone being asked to do it and has not been included in any plans to train others. 'There is nobody who does the surveillance and breadth of what we do at NIOSH [for black lung],' Laney said. Without plan to resume services, coal miners left exposed to dangerous dust Meanwhile, coal miners who have been diagnosed with black lung — including Harry Wiley, a coal miner in Raleigh County who is the lead plaintiff on the class action suit — are in a dangerous position. NIOSH plays a critical role in the Part 90 program, which allows workers diagnosed with black lung to transfer to a less dusty part of a mine without facing retribution or negative repercussions from a mine operator. Miners transferred under the rule have their pay, benefits and hours protected while being able to work in an area that is less likely to advance their black lung disease. In order to qualify for Part 90, miners anywhere must have their black lung testing results evaluated and marked eligible by a NIOSH worker in order to be approved. But now there are no NIOSH workers. Laney said labs certified to test miners for black lung were instructed to stop in April since there was no one at the CWHSP to evaluate the results. This leaves Wiley, who was diagnosed with black lung in November and who applied for a transfer under Part 90, without any options to protect himself from the dangerous disease advancing. And the disease will advance, said Noemi Hall, another NIOSH epidemiologist. The best protection to stop the progression of black lung — which has no cure and few treatment options — is prevention and reducing any exposure to coal mine dust, Laney said. 'We know that this intervention [of transferring workers to less dusty areas] works from the science,' Laney said. '[It's] very clear in the scientific research.' Debbie Johnson, the black lung program director at Bluestone Health in Princeton, told the court she knows of at least four coal miners from her clinic who are depending on the CWHSP to resume services. Two have already entered their applications for a Part 90 transfer and two others need their results evaluated and certified. None have heard from NIOSH. Anita Wolfe, who retired from NIOSH in 2020 but still worked for the agency on a contract basis, said the CWHSP could see more than 5,000 x-rays a year that need to be evaluated. That's 5,000 workers who could be at risk of developing a complicated and severe form of black lung disease without intervention. Freeze on CWHSP occurs while silica dust rule under threat While the federal government says its sorting out what a 'reorganization' of NIOSH and the CWHSP will look like, it has also delayed the implementation of a federal labor rule that would have limited miners' exposure to dangerous silica dust for the first time ever. That rule was meant to go into effect in April. It's been delayed until August, however, partially due to the shakeups at NIOSH and the critical role workers there would have played in its implementation. Sam Petsonk, a labor attorney representing the miners in their lawsuit against the federal government, said in an interview after Wednesday's hearing that without the silica rule and without Part 90 transfers, miners are left with little to nothing to protect themselves. 'West Virginia coal miners fought to create these programs because workers here walked off the job, picketed and demanded protections for themselves and miners throughout the world,' Petsonk said. 'This whole program was created to protect our miners. And now the government isn't doing its part.' Meanwhile, more than just the response actions NIOSH is mandated to perform are going undone. The agency was also responsible for critical research to aid in identifying and preventing black lung in miners. That's especially important today in central Appalachia, where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 20% of the region's coal miners are suffering from black lung — the highest rate detected in more than 25 years. One in 20 of the region's coal miners are living with the most severe form of the condition. And the resurgence of black lung is hitting coal miners at younger ages than ever before. This is due to miners, because of a lack of easily accessible coal, being forced to dig through more silica-rich sandstone than their predecessors in order to reach what little coal remains. 'We're seeing a lot of younger miners who are at that point [of needing a Part 90 transfer],' Johnson told the court Wednesday. Before being told not to come to work in April, Hall was researching cases of black lung where individuals did not show symptoms but were developing the disease. Hall hoped that research could go toward working with miners to get tested early and frequently throughout their careers in order to stop symptoms from onsetting. Now, she said, that work has been dropped and she doesn't expect it to pick back up again. While on the stand Wednesday, both Hall and Laney were asked two questions by Mike Becher, an attorney from Appalachian Mountain Advocates who is representing the coal miners. 'Do you feel through your work you've made a difference in the lives of coal miners?' Becher asked. 'I know that to be the case because of the scientific evidence,' Laney responded. 'Yes,' said Hall. 'Do you feel you've saved miners' lives?' Becher asked. 'I do,' Laney said. 'Yes,' responded Hall. The class action lawsuit against the federal government was filed on behalf of miners by Appalachian Mountain Advocates, Mountain State Justice and Petsonk PLLC in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on April 21, 2025. On Wednesday, Judge Berger said she would have a response to the plaintiff's request for a preliminary injunction to order NIOSH to resume its work 'soon.'
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Union says NIOSH employees expected to return to work are still on termination list
MORGANTOWN, (WBOY) — The American Federation of Government Employees Local 3430 celebrated Sen. Shelley Moore Capito's ( announcement that some NIOSH (FULL) employees are expected to return to work at the Morgantown facility this week, but it's only a temporary solution. According to a press release from Local 3430, the 'several' employees that are expected to return to work this week are related to programs like the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP) and the Fire Fighters' Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP). Although these are 'vital initiatives,' the union said they are 'only a portion' of what NIOSH does. Additionally, the union said that those employees that are expected to return to work are still on the Reduction in Force (RIF) list that is scheduled for termination on June 2. UPS to cut 20K jobs, close some facilities as it reduces amount of Amazon shipments At the beginning of the month, approximately 200 Morgantown NIOSH employees were laid off as part of federal cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), removing the workforce behind the federal government's resources and research for worker safety. 'At its core, NIOSH makes government more effective and efficient by improving the health andsafety of America's workforce. Its science-based research, practical interventions, and collaborative partnerships not only save lives but also generate significant economic benefits,' the Local 3430 release said. Sen. Capito said Tuesday that she is working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to find a more permanent solution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
