8th Circuit Reverses Dismissal Of Mayo Clinic Workers’ COVID-19 Vaccine Claims

(May 29, 2024, 9:48 AM EDT) -- ST. PAUL, Minn. — Three workers who refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and were denied religious exemptions and two who were granted exemptions but refused their employer’s alternate testing requirements may all proceed with their religious accommodation claims against their employers as the trial court erred when it granted dismissal to The Mayo Clinic, Mayo Clinic Health System-Southeast Minnesota Region and Mayo Clinic, Ambulance (together, Mayo Clinic), an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, finding in part that the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) provides a cause of action for failure to accommodate religious beliefs....