NIOSH Workers Beseech Congress on Job Cuts

May 13, 2025

 

NIOSH Workers Warn Congress on Safety Cuts

  • NBC News reported last weekend that more than 100 current and former NIOSH employees have written to Congress to warn that American workers face a greater risk of death and injury on the job as the Trump administration slashes the organization’s ranks.
  • “Without us, more workers will suffer preventable deaths, illnesses, and injuries,” the current and former NIOSH employees wrote in the letter, NBC reported ahead of it being sent to members of Congress.
  • The letter to all of Congress is directed at Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and its ranking member, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), ahead of the committee’s scheduled meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to discuss the proposed HHS budget for the 2026 fiscal year.
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California Mulls Response to NIOSH Cuts

  • California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board is considering the formation of a subcommittee to address challenges arising from the dismantling of NIOSH.
  • At its April 17 meeting, board members discussed reports of significant layoffs within NIOSH due to federal government budget cuts. These cuts would “eliminate 92% of the NIOSH’s workforce,” effectively leading to a shutdown of the agency, wrote Jackson Lewis lawyers Sierra Vierra and Ralph Dimarucut.
    “The proposed subcommittee would explore NIOSH’s overall functions and consider alternatives, including potential legislation, partnerships with other states, and leveraging existing expertise in the field,” they noted.
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Research Shows Gen Z Works Need Mental Healthcare

  • Research set to be published next month by The Hartford finds 40% of Gen Z workers feel depressed or anxious at least a few times per week and 46% say stigma prevents them from seeking mental healthcare.
  • Generation Z people are typically defined as those born between 1997 and 2012, and are currently 13 to 28 years old.
  • The national survey behind The Hartford’s 2025 Future of Benefits Study found more than half of working Americans (60%) want their employer to provide more mental health resources.
  • On the other side of that, some 64% of employers indicated they would like to provide those resources but don’t have the budget.
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