CDC to reduce workforce by one for every staff member being called back from job cuts
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reinstated around 300 employees who were previously dismissed, according to recent reports. This move comes amidst ongoing legal battles and staffing cuts within the Health and Human Services Department (HHS).
In an internal email addressed to Rachel Riley, a Department of Government Efficiency representative at HHS, Thomas Nagy, the head of human resources for HHS, confirmed the policy. The new cuts will occur as soon as legally possible in the coming days, with the CDC providing a one-to-one "substitution" of employees, meaning for every employee reinstated, one will be cut.
The CDC's reinstated employees work at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a part of the CDC. NIOSH had few staff remaining after the Trump administration had gutted nearly the entire office. The exact departments within the CDC targeted for upcoming cuts include the Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Division, the Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Division, and the office led by the CDC director Susan Monarez until her recent dismissal. These departments, located at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, were not spared from the cuts.
However, it is unclear whether the new cuts will come from NIOSH or elsewhere within CDC. U.S. Judge Irene Berger ruled that HHS violated the law by ending the Coal Workers' Health Surface Program and mandated that all employees in NIOSH's Respiratory Health Division be reinstated. NIOSH Director John Howard expressed hope that all employees at the agency could be reinstated.
The Office of the Director, Respiratory Health Division, Division of Safety Research, Division of Compensation and Analysis Support, National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, and part of the Division of Field Studies and Surveillance were among the units recalled at NIOSH. Matt Buzzelli, CDC's chief of staff, was also part of the email conversation.
HHS is currently facing a lawsuit from 19 states arguing that the department had no constitutional or statutory authority to carry out the 10,000 staffing cuts it has so far implemented. HHS is also facing a separate prohibition on issuing any layoffs as part of a temporary restraining order in another court case, which is set to last through May 23 but could get extended into a preliminary injunction.
In a positive development, the National Institutes of Health has also recalled employees on a limited basis, with each reinstated employee requiring a new RIF to maintain the total impacted unchanged. This move indicates a potential shift in the department's approach towards staffing cuts.
As the situation unfolds, it is clear that the HHS and its affiliated institutions are navigating complex legal and staffing challenges. The reinstatement of employees at the CDC and NIOSH offers a glimmer of hope in these uncertain times, but the future of the department's staffing remains unclear.
