Mayo Clinic sued for retaliation after AI compliance whistleblower
Mayo Clinic's former AI compliance leader sued the health system in July 2026, alleging she was retaliated against and fired while on medical leave after raising concerns about inadequate ethical review of de-identified patient data sharing and mischaracterized findings in an AI research study. The lawsuit claims Mayo prioritized research speed over compliance with privacy safeguards established by presidential executive order.
What happened
Traci Tamiko Eto, former director of research operations at Mayo Clinic, filed a federal lawsuit in Minnesota U.S. District Court on July 8, 2026, alleging retaliation and discrimination related to her dismissal in late 2025.
Eto joined Mayo Clinic in December 2023 with 18 years of experience in protecting human subjects of scientific research, and was designated to lead the health system's efforts to align with the Biden Administration's October 2023 Executive Order on AI security and privacy safeguards.
In late spring or early summer of 2024, Eto raised concerns that de-identification processes within Mayo Clinic Platform, particularly those related to data-sharing with global providers, had not been properly reviewed by Mayo's Institutional Review Board.
In November 2024, Eto spoke up about a research study on MAYA, a digital assistant tool, alleging the study team mischaracterized its findings.
Reported impact
The lawsuit alleges Mayo Clinic violated the Family and Medical Leave Act and Americans with Disabilities Act when it terminated Eto's employment while she was on FMLA leave.
The lawsuit states that Eto witnessed ruptures in Mayo's compliance culture and that Scott Wright, senior chair and medical director of the IRB, was resistant to her concerns, stating that IRB review would jeopardize the pace of research projects and compromise Mayo's competitive advantage.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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