The United Federation of Teachers plans to sue the Department of Education for placing dozens of employees on leave without pay after they allegedly submitted phony proof of COVID-19 vaccination, The Post has learned.

The union, which had given the DOE a deadline by end of day Friday to keep affected members on payroll while the investigation plays out, told The Post it would proceed with the legal challenge against the DOE and Chancellor David Banks.

“The DOE did not change its intention to place these employees on unpaid leave,” said a spokesperson for the UFT. “In response, we filed a notice of claim with the city that we intend to sue.”

An estimated 82 UFT members received unpaid leave notices from the city, according to the union, while the DOE said fewer than 100 employees were under the probe.

The claim was submitted on behalf of teachers, school psychologists, school social workers, school secretaries and paraprofessionals.

The DOE contends it is in compliance with the law and contracts, pointing to the city’s order requiring all teachers and school staff be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“Compliance with that Order is a condition of DOE employment, and DOE cannot permit unvaccinated employees, absent an exemption or accommodation, to perform work for DOE,” Toni Gantz, executive deputy counsel for the DOE, wrote in a letter to the union obtained by The Post.

Gantz said that as such, leave without pay is not a discipline measure in response to misconduct, but rather related to the employees’ eligibility status so adhering to different procedures.

But the union has said some teachers have already reached out to the DOE to say they received the notice as a mistake.

Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams stood by the vaccine requirement on Friday, saying he is “not at all” considering nixing the mandate for city workers.

The Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District and law enforcement agencies continue to investigate the allegations of fraudulent vaccine documentation.