ROCHESTER, N.Y. — An upcoming federal mandate has some businesses on edge.

The Department of Labor is developing a rule that would require all businesses with more than 100 employees to ensure all staff members are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested weekly. The mandate is expected to impact more than 80 million workers.

Managers at Hegedorn's in Webster say the possible impact on their business is a major concern.

As cars arrive and Colleen Brown stocks the shelves, there’s a feeling of uncertainty among some staff members.

“We seem to be in a pretty good place right now, but you know there’s some concern over the new mandate will change what’s going to happen with some of our people," said manager John Gonzalez.

Gonzalez says the past year and a half has been a roller coaster and things were starting to stabilize, but that could change soon.

“We’re not sure exactly how it’ll affect us, but there is a concern frankly that we might lose some good people to the mandate," said Gonzalez.

The grocery store has more than 100 employees and says their vaccination percentage is between 75% and just over 80%, but staff members are leaving because the vaccine mandate could impact other employees.

“Probably would mean I would have to work more than 6 hours a day," said Brown, merchandising supervisor. "Right now I’m working 6 hours a day, so it would probably mean I’d have to bump it up to 8 hours a day to get everything done.”

Along with some employees taking on the extra workload, it could be another challenge hiring staff to fill vacant positions as the busy season approaches.

“Well, the foodservice industry it’s very hard right now to find people to work basically," Gonzalez said. "You see a lot of hiring signs out there and it’s difficult just to find anyone that’s available and ready to work, especially as we had into the holiday season when we’re going to be very busy.”

Managers at the grocery store say they respect the spirit of the mandate, but from a business perspective, it is concerning.

“We hate the idea we’re going to lose any of our people, we don’t want that to happen, but we have to start game planning," said Gonzalez. "So we’re getting ready, but there’s no real plan in place right now other than just thinking about it and seeing where, as the rules come out and the timeline, seeing how all of that actually plays out.”

As businesses wait for the impact of the federal vaccine mandate, there is hope this will be helpful to some people.

“We’ll see what happens," Brown said. "I mean maybe the good thing for kids graduating is there will be more opportunities for them than there had been.”