Latest news with #IreneBerger
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
RFK, Capito and Moore didn't save NIOSH employees' jobs — a lawyer and coal miner did
U.S. District Court Judge Irene Berger ordered 'full restoration' of services at the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety's Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, pictured here on Jan. 28, 2012, is located in Morgantown, (Getty Images) Last week, a federal judge ordered 'full restoration' of services at the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety's Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program. However, after the ruling, credit for getting those people back to work at NIOSH started going to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — the man who eliminated the positions in the first place. In her ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Irene Berger said the federal Department of Health and Human Services could not legally end services with the surveillance program, and that doing so would 'cost lives.' In April, more than 200 jobs were eliminated at NIOSH as part of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative, which aimed to reduce staffing at DHHS from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees. This affected the entire NIOSH facility in Morgantown, leaving no one in the United States who performs the same services for occupational safety and health, said Cathy Tinney-Zara, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3040. 'We do the research to make everyone's job safer,' she said. West Virginia U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito was the only member of the state's Congressional delegation who spoke up against the job cuts. She requested a meeting with Kennedy, to ask him to bring back the NIOSH employees. Capito posted on X on the day of Berger's ruling that, 'The health and safety of our WV workers, including our miners, is of the utmost importance and I will always advocate for their wellbeing.' Despite that comment, she's not backing the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act that was introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine and Rep. Bobby Scott, who both represent Virginia. She's not speaking out about delaying the Mine Safety and Health Administration rule that would have limited how much dangerous silica dust coal miners are exposed to while they work. She hasn't supported federal legislation to increase monthly black lung benefits stipends for thousands of West Virginia coal miners and their families to keep up with rises in inflation. On the same day as Berger's ruling, job cuts were reversed for a Pittsburgh lab that certifies virtually all U.S. government-approved respirators in the country. When Pennsylvania Capitol-Star reporter Ian Karbal reached out to DHHS about the reversal, a spokesperson pointed to employees at the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program getting back to work. They gave the credit, however, to Kennedy and, of course, the Trump administration. 'The Trump Administration remains committed to supporting coal miners, who play a vital role in America's energy sector. Under Secretary [Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]'s leadership, NIOSH's Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program will continue to meet the needs of our nation's miners,' a spokesperson for DHHS wrote. West Virginia U.S. Rep. Riley Moore — who eventually began to care about the job cuts in Morgantown — credited himself and Kennedy for good news. 'This is a great win for West Virginia, and I can't thank the Secretary enough for working closely with my office to make this happen,' Moore posted on X. 'The work NIOSH does is critically important for our coal miners and their safety.' But that's not what happened. The NIOSH employees only got their jobs back because Berger ruled it was illegal to end the program. And she heard from NIOSH employees and the case's lead plaintiff, a coal miner named Harry Wiley, who presented 'overwhelming evidence' that the work had been stopped — not just paused — without any plans or efforts in place to ensure it continued as mandated by Congress. Mine safety and health lawyer Sam Brown Petsonk worked with Mountain State Justice and Appalachian Mountain Advocates to file Wiley v. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., et al. Petsonk found Wiley, a coal miner who was diagnosed with black lung in November, to testify and lead the case. Wiley asked to use Part 90, which allows workers diagnosed with black lung to transfer to a less dusty part of a mine without facing retribution from a mine operator. To qualify, miners must have their black lung testing results certified by NIOSH. But those employees were all placed on administrative leave on April 1, leaving no one to approve his application or offer him free screenings to verify his claims. '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.' Wiley risked the possibility of facing unofficial social reprimands from the coal mine he works at. He should feel insulted that people are thanking Kennedy — Kennedy didn't make the decision to put NIOSH employees back to work, Berger did. Our elected and appointed officials with one lone exception sat back while the government attempted to rob coal miners of the congressionally mandated rights their predecessors fought for. And those miners fight every day to survive an incurable disease without their help. When you see campaign ads featuring coal miners start to circulate on TV next election, remember where this credit really belongs. Remember who actually fought for our coal miners. Capito and Moore should be thanking Berger, Petsonk and Wiley for getting some NIOSH employees back to work. And they should be working to get the rest of the employees back on the job permanently as well. The mining research team in Pennsylvania is still on 'temporary' administrative leave. This isn't the end of the fight. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
CBS News
18-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Judge orders restoration of jobs in health program for West Virginia coal miners
CHARLESTON, (AP) — 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. U.S. District Judge Irene Berger issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by a coal miner who was diagnosed with a respiratory ailment commonly known as black lung disease. Nearly 200 workers at a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health facility in Morgantown were told last month that their jobs were being terminated as part of restructuring within Health and Human Services. Berger ordered that jobs be restored within NIOSH's respiratory health division in Morgantown, although her ruling didn't specify a number. The division is responsible for screening and reviewing medical exams to determine whether there is evidence that miners have developed black lung. Federal law mandates that regular health screenings be made available to coal miners. Those diagnosed with black lung are also given the option to transfer to other positions in a mine to protect them from continued dust exposure without a pay reduction. Berger said the defendants "lack the authority to unilaterally cancel" the Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program within NIOSH. She ordered both the surveillance and job transfer programs to be restored, saying that "there be no pause, stoppage or gap in the protections and services" mandated by the federal Mine Safety and Health Act. Poisonous silica dust has contributed to the premature deaths of thousands of mine workers from black lung disease. Plaintiff Harry Wiley, a West Virginia mine electrician who has worked in coal mines for 38 years, was diagnosed with early-stage black lung last November. Canceling the health surveillance program would "cost lives," Berger wrote. "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." The judge gave Kennedy 20 days to show the federal government is complying with her order. An email seeking comment from Health and Human Services wasn't immediately returned Tuesday night. Wiley's attorney, Sam Brown Petsonk, said the preliminary injunction "had to happen, and the public, I think, understands the absolute necessity of this program. It cannot be hindered. It cannot be whittled away. It's essential because it saves the lives of some of he hardest-working people in this entire world." NIOSH was created under a 1970 law signed by President Richard Nixon. It started operations the following year and grew to have offices and labs in eight cities, including Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Morgantown, and Spokane, Washington.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
HHS reinstates fired workers responsible for coal miner health protection
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reinstated nearly 200 workers who screen coal miners for black lung, an incurable progressive disease caused by long-term exposure to coal dust, following a federal judge's order Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Irene Berger issued a preliminary injunction halting the firings at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program. Berger ordered the 'full restoration' of services for the program, which is congressionally mandated by the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. The program offers health screenings for miners and allows researchers to identify disease trends across the nation. Miners who are diagnosed with black lung can transfer to a different part of the mine without a pay cut, under a provision called a Part 90 waiver. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday confirmed the workers had been rehired. 'I reinstated 328 employees at NIOSH,' Kennedy said during a House Appropriations Committee hearing. 'A little over a third of them were in Morgantown, about a third were in Cincinnati and then the World Trade Center group, I also reinstated.' The program's employees were among the thousands of federal health workers put on administrative leave on April 1, with termination effective June 2, as part of HHS's reorganization efforts. Berger found that there 'is no dispute' that the congressionally mandated services are not currently being offered, 'and there is no testimony or plan offered explaining how they will resume. The only reasoning for their actions put forth by the Defendants is an effort to streamline efficiencies.' The case is a class action lawsuit brought by a veteran coal miner named Henry Wiley who argued the terminations endangered him and other miners. Berger wrote if the dismissals were allowed to go forward, '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.' Halting research that helps ensure effective, targeted and efficient preventative measures 'harms the public both by increasing the prevalence of black lung and by increasing the costs of preventative measures and of treatment and benefits,' Berger wrote. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
14-05-2025
- Health
- The Hill
HHS reinstates fired workers responsible for coal miner health protection
The Centers for Disease Control and Protection has reinstated nearly 200 workers who screen coal miners for black lung, an incurable progressive disease caused by long-term exposure to coal dust, following a federal judge's order Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Irene Berger issued a preliminary injunction halting the firings at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's (NIOSH) Coal Workers Health Surveillance Program. Berger ordered the 'full restoration' of services for the program, which is congressionally mandated by the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. The program offers health screenings for miners and allows researchers to identify disease trends across the nation. Miners who are diagnosed with black lung can transfer to a different part of the mine without a pay cut, under a provision called a Part 90 waiver. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday confirmed the. workers had been rehired. 'I reinstated 328 employees at NIOSH,' Kennedy said during a House Appropriations Committee hearing. 'A little over a third of them were in Morgantown, about a third were in Cincinnati and then the World Trade Center group, I also reinstated.' The program's employees were among the thousands of federal health workers put on administrative leave on April 1, with termination effective June 2, as part of HHS's reorganization effort. Berger found that there 'is no dispute' that the congressionally mandated services are not currently being offered, 'and there is no testimony or plan offered explaining how they will resume. The only reasoning for their actions put forth by the Defendants is an effort to streamline efficiencies.' The case is a class action lawsuit brought by a veteran coal miner named Henry Wiley who argued the terminations endangered him and other miners. Berger wrote if the dismissals were allowed to go forward, '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.' Halting research that helps ensure effective, targeted, and efficient preventative measures 'harms the public both by increasing the prevalence of black lung and by increasing the costs of preventative measures and of treatment and benefits,' Berger wrote.
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.
