Henry Reaves III, founder and owner of Reaves Law Firm in Memphis, is requiring everyone who works in the office or comes into contact with clients to be vaccinated, a hard-line policy that resulted in a small number of lawyers and staff leaving the firm.

Reaves said he made the tough decision, based on information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and medical doctors, because his top priority is to protect his employees and clients. Losing some employees was a “costly stance to take,” considering the tight hiring market, but “when I think about what is at risk … I feel like it’s the right thing to do.”