ST PAUL, Minn. — On Friday, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter sent an email to staff that said he decided to discontinue the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for city employees.
Last June, a judge invalidated the vaccine mandate for the unionized city employees.
Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro opined that the city improperly imposed the mandate without meeting and negotiating with various employee unions.
Unions including the Saint Paul Police Federation, the International Association of Firefighters and The Tri-Council Teamsters Local sued over the mandate.
In Mayor Carter's email sent out Friday, he said "over the course of this past year throughout legal proceedings, and even through a court-ordered suspension of parts of the requirement," more than 2,700 city employees received COVID-19 vaccines.
Mayor Carter said the city is now in a position where the "requirement is no longer necessary."
