Some of the employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health facility in Morgantown who had been laid off will be “returning to the job permanently,” according to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.
Capito, in a social media post Tuesday, said she had just spoken to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the status of employees at the Morgantown facility.
“My understanding from @SecKennedy is that over 100 Morgantown employees will be returning to the job permanently,” Capito said. “The health and safety of our WV workers, including our miners, is of the utmost importance and I will always advocate for their wellbeing.”
Capito’s announcement is the latest in a series of developments about NIOSH since about 200 employees at the Morgantown facility were informed they had been laid off at the beginning of April.
At the beginning of May, Capito said “some” employees with the facility’s Coal Worker Health Surveillance Program and the Fire Fighters’ Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program were temporarily brought back. But the other employees who had been laid off were slated to lose their positions permanently in June, she said.
Capito voted in favor of confirming Kennedy to serve as HHS secretary and released a statement shortly after the vote expressing confidence in his ability.
“As the chairman of the subcommittee responsible for funding HHS, I will work closely with Secretary Kennedy to make sure West Virginia’s priorities are considered,” she said. “Secretary Kennedy understands the unique health care challenges of rural America and the need to balance embracing new ideas with what has been proven successful in the past.”