U.S. District Judge Irene Berger ordered the restoration of a coal miner health monitoring program in West Virginia on Tuesday, May 13, rescinding recent layoffs. The layoffs affected nearly 200 workers and were part of a Health and Human Services restructuring challenged in a lawsuit by a miner diagnosed with black lung disease.
The restoration is crucial for protecting miners from black lung disease, and the program must not have any gaps in service.
The judge instructed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to ensure compliance within 20 days and stated that canceling the program would cost lives.
