Small Employers Frustrated by Biden’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Bob Roth, CEO of transformer manufacturer RoMan Manufacturing, poses for a photograph in his plant in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Dec. 12, 2018. Rebecca Cook/Reuters

Small employers like Bob Roth on Friday voiced frustration with President Joe Biden’s mandate that workers either get vaccinated or tested regularly to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The co-owner of RoMan Manufacturing, a producer of transformers and glass-molding equipment in Grand Rapids, Michigan, supports vaccination but worries about increased costs, such as for testing and administration, that small companies like his will be forced to bear. He called the new mandate “encroaching.”