A West Virginia federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reverse the terminations of nearly 200 workers who oversee a health monitoring program for coal miners after they were laid off last month.
Judge Irene C. Berger of the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia granted a preliminary injunction compelling HHS to restore all personnel to the Respiratory Health Division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Workers in the division are responsible for screening and reviewing medical examinations submitted by outside providers to determine whether there is evidence that miners have developed a respiratory ailment called pneumoconiosis, more commonly known as black lung disease….