MORGANTOWN — A significant part of the workforce at the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health will return to work permanently, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said Tuesday.

Capito, R-W.Va., made the announcement on X, formerly Twitter, that the employees would be called back.

“As Chairman of the [Labor-HHS] Subcommittee, I was proud to advocate for the critical work that’s done at NIOSH in Morgantown, W.Va. My understanding from [Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] is that over 100 Morgantown employees will be returning to the job permanently.

“The health and safety of our West Virginia workers, including our miners, is of the utmost importance, and I will always advocate for their wellbeing,” the Mountain State’s senior senator said.

Capito, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, chairs the subcommittee that funds Kennedy’s department. Capito staffers reported the senator spoke directly with Kennedy on the NIOSH situation.

Cathy Tinney, president of Morgantown Local 3430 of the American Federation of Government Employees, said the workers who will be called back to the facility here have all received letters informing them their earlier reduction-in-force notifications have been rescinded.

“We want to commend Sen. Capito and Secretary Kennedy,” she said. “We still maintain that all our jobs are essential, so this is a first step.”

More than 200 jobs have been targeted for elimination at the Morgantown NIOSH as part of a nationwide reduction of approximately 2,400 NIOSH jobs. There are 185 employees represented by the American Federation of Government Employees who received their reduction-in-force notifications in early April.

More recently, the non-union employees were informed that all of the remaining workers would be unemployed by July 2.

Capito penned a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April urging him to reverse course on the RIF notifications.