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4w ago

EEOC Sues Mayo Clinic Over Denial of Religious COVID-19 Vaccine Exemption

Filed July 31 in Minnesota federal court, the suit seeks a judge’s order mandating religious accommodations with compensatory and punitive relief after conciliation efforts collapsed.

The Mayo Clinic Scottsdale on July 25, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz.
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Overview

  • The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lodged the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, accusing Mayo Clinic of violating Title VII by refusing a security guard’s religious accommodation request under its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
  • Security guard Cody Schultz, a member of the Assemblies of God Church, sought an exemption in November 2021, arguing that certain vaccine ingredients conflicted with his Pentecostal beliefs.
  • Mayo Clinic rejected Schultz’s request twice and warned on December 2, 2021, that he must be vaccinated or lose his job, leading him to comply against his conscience.
  • After determining in April that there was reasonable cause to believe the clinic had infringed federal civil rights, the EEOC said its conciliation efforts had failed.
  • The complaint asks the court to bar Mayo Clinic from denying reasonable religious accommodations and to award Schultz compensatory and punitive damages.