Layoffs within the Department of Health and Human Services are raising concerns over how the roofing industry will keep its workers safe.

As part of the sweeping federal layoffs effected by President Donald Trump’s Executive Order, “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative,” the HHS announced it is reducing its workforce by roughly 10,000 full-time employees.

About 850 workers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) were among those cuts.

Based in Cincinnati, NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It conducts research, education and training to improve workplace safety and health. OSHA uses NIOSH research to develop regulations and enforce them in the workplace.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has previously said the cuts address redundancy across agencies with like departments. A March 27 press release says 28 divisions of the HHS contain redundant units, with the restructuring consolidating them into 15.

“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants,” Kennedy Jr. said in a written statement.

NIOSH will merge with other agencies to form the “Administration for a Healthy America,” joining other agencies like the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

This new administration will focus on primary care, maternal and child health, mental health and workforce development.

Safety Concerns

The National Roofing Contractors Association expressed concerns over the layoffs on its website, saying most of the NIOSH layoffs were research scientists and supervisors. The NRCA has been a research-to-practice program partner with the Center for Construction Research and Training, formerly the Center to Protect Works Rights, for the past 11 years.

The CPWR is a nonprofit organization mainly funded by NIOSH grants. According to the NRCA, the research organization will end its Small Studies program due to the cuts, and its research-to-practice program, which supports the Falls, Struck-By and other national campaigns, will be “significantly affected.”

“CPWR is evaluating the next steps and determining how to carry out its mission of enhancing worker safety and health in the construction industry while continuing to conduct impactful research,” the NRCA said.

The NRCA signed a letter to the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations, asking them to restore NIOSH staff and funding.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions invited Kennedy to a hearing on the reorganization of HHS, scheduled for April 10. According to the Associated Press, Kennedy said 20% of the people laid off might be reinstated as the agency attempts to correct mistakes.

In a press release, AFL-CIO President, Liz Shuler, condemned the Trump administration’s actions, saying the number of workers who are injured or die from injuries on the job will only increase with these cuts.

“NIOSH is a highly skilled and efficient agency that delivers critical health and safety expertise for both workers and employers — protecting workers in some of the most dangerous industries, like coal mining, firefighting, construction, and health care — and is responsible for providing medical monitoring and services to 9/11 responders and survivors,” she said.

Kennedy Jr. emphasized that the cuts would be a win-win for taxpayers and the HHS's beneficiaries — “that’s the entire American public.”

“We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy Jr. said. “This Department will do more — a lot more — at a lower cost to the taxpayer.”

According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roofing is the third most fatal civilian occupation in the United States, experiencing 134 workplace fatalities in 2023 — up 8% from 2022. Of those 134 fatalities, 110 were caused by a fall, slip or trip.