Protect Worker Safety by Reversing NIOSH Cuts

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is a government agency established to keep all workers “in safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.” The agency’s work includes researching hazardous substances in workplaces, making recommendations on safety measures, certifying protective equipment used across industries, tracking illness and death due to workplace conditions, and providing direct services like respiratory health and cancer screening for firefighters. The $363 million agency accrues hundreds of millions—far more than its own budget—in economic benefits to American businesses each year by preserving workers’ health.

In early April 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) slashed the NIOSH workforce by two thirds and shuttered labs and offices nationwide. These cuts all but destroy 50 years of infrastructure and programs that have protected workers and prevented workplace injuries, illnesses, and deaths among miners, firefighters, industrial and factory workers, healthcare workers, flight attendants, construction workers, agricultural workers, and more.

Without a reversal of these enormous cuts and reinstatement of NIOSH professionals’ irreplaceable expertise, the health, safety, and livelihood of millions of American workers will in immediate and dire jeopardy.