January 18, 2026 - Hundreds of federal employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received an email Tuesday notifying them they’re no longer subject to layoffs announced last spring.

That includes roughly 100 employees at the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division (PMRD) in Allegheny County, who are focused on advancements in mine safety. Their work includes research into ventilation, blast shields, and dust reduction. While they do not create rules or regulations, technology they’ve helped develop is used in mines across the country, and their research has led to changes in mine safety standards.

“This has been a tough battle here,” said Lilas Soukup, president of the local chapter of the federal employees union that represents PMRD employees. “I think we’re finally coming to a true win.”

Roughly 90% of NIOSH employees, including the Pittsburgh mining research team, were placed on administrative leave last April and told their positions were being eliminated. The move was part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) effort to slash federal employment across government agencies.

But due to a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, they were not allowed to be let go. That left NIOSH employees, including those at the Bruceton facility, in a sort of limbo.

The short email employees received by NIOSH employees Tuesday offered a sense of security that had been absent for much of the last year. However, PMRD employees have yet to hear details such as when they are expected to return.

“The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is a small but vital federal agency that helps prevent employee injuries, illnesses, and deaths at workplaces nationwide,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement Wednesday. “The administration’s attempt to lay off nearly every NIOSH worker was shameful and illegal, considering that much of NIOSH’s work is required by law. As the union representing these dedicated public servants, we are grateful that their jobs have been restored and we will continue fighting to ensure NIOSH has the resources and support it needs to serve the American public.”

Since the announcement of the layoffs in April, 2025, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pressured Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reinstate NIOSH’s mine safety teams, especially as the Trump administration called for increasing mining across the country.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jessica Shirley had also urged Kennedy to reinstate the Allegheny County team, which collaborates with the state department’s Bureau of Mine Safety on work like training mine rescue teams.

“This moment belongs to every single person who refused to stay silent,” Micah Niemeier-Walsh, Vice President of a federal employees union chapter representing NIOSH workers in Cincinnati, said in a statement. “Every rally, every media interview, every petition signature, every act of solidarity by NIOSH employees and our partners in the labor movement led to this victory of saving NIOSH.”

Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources, said, “Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, the nation’s critical public health functions remain intact and effective. The Trump Administration is committed to protecting essential services—whether it’s supporting coal miners and firefighters through NIOSH, safeguarding public health through lead prevention, or researching and tracking the most prevalent communicable diseases. Enhancing the health and well-being of all Americans remains our top priority.”