Mayo Clinic issuing warning instead of unpaid leave to unvaccinated employees ahead of Jan.3 deadline

Chad Corey

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(ABC 6 News) – Mayo Clinic is allowing more time for its employees to meet its vaccine requirement.

Mayo Clinic said it will "transition from an unpaid leave beginning Dec. 3 to a final written warning to avoid placing additional stress on vaccinated staff and potentially having to revoke previously approved paid time off in December.”

All unvaccinated employees will be required to receive at least one dose of the vaccine by the January 3 deadline or risk being terminated.

In October, Mayo Clinic said it was moving into the next phase of its COVID-19 vaccination requirement and that any worker that had not received a shot would be placed on unpaid leave either until they got vaccinated, or until the January 3 deadline when they would be terminated.

In a statement Mayo Clinic said: “To advance the primary value of Mayo Clinic – the needs of the patient come first – Mayo is requiring all staff to either be vaccinated for COVID-19 or receive a medical or religious exemption.

Staff who remain unvaccinated and who did not receive a medical or religious exemption will receive a final written warning on Dec. 3. For staff to continue working at Mayo Clinic, they need to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Jan. 3.

While Mayo Clinic does not want to lose any of its valued staff, Mayo remains firmly committed to requiring vaccination for staff to help ensure the safety of our patients, staff, visitors and communities."

As of December 2nd, 93% of Mayo staff across all locations have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. A number of staff have received medical and religious exemptions.