Contractor switch draws lawsuit against Mayo Clinic foodservices

A switch in contracted management firms is likely to land the foodservice operations of Mayo Clinic in court.

The health system was sued a week ago by the Services Employees International Union, which accuses Mayo of switching from Sodexo to Morrison Healthcare at its Minnesota facilities because of an administrator’s connection to the new manager.

The union contends that Mayo foodservice administrator Carol Gorman has a personal relationship to an executive of Morrison, an alleged violation of Mayo’s conflict of interest rules.

Mayo has countered that the decision to change vendors was made by a management committee, not any one individual.

Mayo’s foodservice workforce is apparently unionized. Morrison would bring in its own employees.

SEIU is demanding that the switch be halted and that Gorman be fired.