Occupational Health and Safety on the Chopping Block — What’s at Stake?

Article: Occupational Health and Safety on the Chopping Block — What’s at Stake?

Authors: Andrew T. Gabrielson, MD and Claudia Corwin, MD, MPH

Journal: N Engl J Med 2025;393:1353-1355

Excerpt:
In an era of labor shortages and rising workplace-injury costs, the U.S. government has taken steps to dismantle the bedrock research agency charged with safeguarding worker health: the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).1,2 In April 2025, the Department of Government Efficiency and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) eliminated more than 80% of NIOSH staff as part of broader cuts affecting nearly 10% of HHS personnel. Similar wholesale attacks on public health activities have been proposed for the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health.

Link to journal online: https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMp2510512