Thirty previously laid-off staff members at the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Division of Intramural Research—including 11 lab heads—should “immediately return to work,” according to an NINDS Office of Human Resources email sent to top administration at the institute Wednesday evening. Some of the layoff notices sent this week were the result of a coding error that mislabeled some employees with incorrect position codes, according to an NINDS employee who is not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
Those who should return to work include the 10 NINDS lab heads The Transmitter reported on yesterday; an additional principal investigator not included in that report, Zu-Hang Sheng, was also reinstated, according to the email. The lab heads who were sent reduction-in-force notices had been incorrectly labeled with job codes that differ from the job code for other principal investigators within the institute, the anonymous NINDS employee says.
The email—a photo of which was shared with The Transmitter—lists the 30 staff members and reads, “NIH leadership has informed us that the individuals below should be contacted ASAP and told immediately return to work.” Three senior scientists and staff in the Office of Research Training and Career Development, in the Office of the Scientific Director and in building facilities were also among those on the list. Almost all of the 30 people received the reduction-in-force notice earlier this week, but a few were probationary employees who had been laid off in February, the source says.
“I am infuriated at the inefficiency of the time wasted by staff running around having to respond to these events, heartbroken for the emotional cost for hardworking, dedicated civil servants and scientific trainees just starting their careers,” the anonymous NINDS employee says.
The email says that the employees’ reduction-in-force notices “are not cancelled, however, NIH leadership is actively working on a long-term solution.” The Office of Human Resources “leadership and staff have no additional information to provide and asks that questions be directed to your leadership,” the email continues.
Thousands of employees across federal health agencies received reduction-in-force notices this week following last week’s announcement from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services that he would restructure the department and lay off 10,000 workers.
About 1,200 National Institutes of Health (NIH) probationary employees also received termination notices in February, but some have since been reinstated.
