Judge orders NIOSH workers for coal miner health back to work after ‘illegal’ action poses risks

By Caity Coyne

West Virginia Watch, via Kentucky Lantern

A federal judge this week 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