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Mayo $50,000 COVID-19 $$$

Mayo $50,000 COVID-19 $$$

Published 1 week, 2 days ago
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Mayo Clinic to pay $50,000 for not making religious exception in COVID-19 vaccine policy

Mayo Clinic logo(MGN | MGN Image (Credit))

By Cole Negen

Published: Sep. 24, 2026 at 4:57 PM CDT|Updated: 12 hours ago

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – Mayo Clinic will pay a $50,000 settlement for not making a religious accommodation for an employee in its COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

The lawsuit was filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the lawsuit, a security guard working at Mayo Clinic opposed taking the vaccine due to his religion. The security guard requested an exception be made to the clinic’s vaccination policy, which was first put in place in Oct. 2021.

Mayo Clinic rejected the employee’s request in Dec. 2021, believing the man’s religious beliefs to be fake. The employee then received the vaccine under the threat of being fired.

Mayo Clinic was found in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination based on a person’s faith and requiring companies make religious accommodations for their employees.

Christopher Lage, the Deputy General Counsel of the EEOC, made the following statement on the lawsuit.

“Even when faced with unique challenges like the pandemic, employers must comply with federal civil rights laws. An employer should ordinarily assume that an employee’s request for religious accommodation is based on a sincerely held religious belief, unless it has an objective basis for further inquiry. Employers should provide accommodations for all aspects of religious observances or practices unless doing so would result in an undue hardship.”

Christopher Lage, Deputy General Counsel of the EEOC

In a statement after the announcement by EEOC, Mayo Clinic said, “Mayo Clinic maintains that its vaccination program was established in accordance with the law to protect the health and safety of staff, patients and communities, and it included a process to accommodate religious beliefs.”

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