NIOSH in Turmoil: The History, Impact, and Why We Should Care

As seen in Protocol

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S RECENT CUTS to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have rocked the world of occupational safety and health. In April and May of 2025, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was effectively shuttered. Approximately 85% of staff were placed on administrative leave with termination dates set for June and July; all but two of the Institute’s programs were eliminated, and those remaining programs could not function properly without the shared technical support and expertise from the other programs. Although some programs and staff recently have been reinstated due to public pressure, two-thirds of the eliminated staff still have not; their contract support is gone, and many NIOSH supporters fear that long-term damage has already been done. 

This is where we stand as I pen this article in May 2025. Perhaps the world will look different come publication in July, and my words will take on the tone of a doomsdayer who hit the panic button too soon. But regardless of whether NIOSH and its programs are fully reinstated, I think there is a larger point to be made here. The agencies and government institutions that protect worker health and safety are under attack, and this is just the beginning. The ramifications of closing NIOSH threaten the health and welfare of workers, the entire specialty of occupational safety and health, and our society at large for years to come. As an industry, we in entertainment cannot remain silent.