MORGANTOWN — A federal judge issued an injunction Tuesday to bring a halt to the reduction-in-force notices issued to NIOSH employees in Morgantown.

Meanwhile, one of West Virginia’s congressional representatives received direct answers on NIOSH from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Ruling on a request from a southern West Virginia coal miner to restore the respiratory health division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, U.S. District Judge Irene Berger said plaintiff Harry Wiley of Kanawha County and other coal miners have a right to the congressionally mandated protections and services that had been promised to them with “no pause, stoppage or gap.”

Berger, who presides in the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, ordered that the RIF notices issued to NIOSH employees be rescinded and that Kennedy prove compliance with her ruling within 20 days.

Mountain State Justice filed the lawsuit on behalf of Wiley, challenging the closure of NIOSH’s occupational health programs as illegal and hazardous to the lives of West Virginia miners.

“America’s coal miners won an injunction [Tuesday] reversing the federal government’s closure of NIOSH’s miners’ health programs, including the Part 90 low-dust transfer & miners’ health screening programs,” Sam Petsonk, the lawyer who has spearheaded the lawsuit, said in a statement. “These programs are more urgent than ever as Appalachian coal miners cut through massive amounts of highly-toxic sandstone to reach the thin coal seams that remain in our heavily-depleted coal basin.

“This opinion gives life to America’s foundational principles of judicial review, empowering ordinary citizens like these coal miners to defend their rights against illegal actions by our government. I’m 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.”

Congressional questions

On Wednesday morning, Kennedy appeared before Congress to answer questions on several topics — including NIOSH.

Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., asked the HHS secretary whether 111 NIOSH employees in Morgantown had been reinstated.

“Yeah, I reinstated 328 employees at NIOSH,” Kennedy replied. “About a little over a third of them were in Morgantown, and then about a third in Cincinnati and then the World Trade Center group I also reinstated.”

Moore turned his questions toward programs for coal miners’ health.

“The black lung screening program and the coal workers’ health surveillance program are particularly important to West Virginia. My understanding is that the coal workers health surveillance program at NIOSH will be fully reinstated. Is that correct?” Moore asked.

“Yes, the program … will continue to function with continuity,” Kennedy responded.

A similar exchange confirmed the respirator testing programs will remain fully operational.

“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. The work NIOSH does is critically important for our coal miners and their safety,” Moore said during the hearing.

However, the chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party contends that the Mountain State’s congressional delegation shouldn’t be taking credit for the restoration of NIOSH jobs, which is the result of Berger’s court order.