Leaders in the New York Legislature reached an agreement on Wednesday on a law that would more strictly regulate the state’s thousands of nail shops, an expanding industry in which paying far less than minimum wage and operating without licenses is commonplace, the governor’s office said.
The law, which is expected to be approved on Thursday by both the Assembly and the Senate, includes several new rules but would also elevate the seriousness with which the state views bad actors in the salon industry. Running an unlicensed salon would be considered a criminal offense, punishable by a fine or even imprisonment. Currently, it is a violation punishable only by a fine.
The bipartisan bills were introduced at the behest of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, shortly after a report in The New York Times detailed the rampant exploitation of nail workers, a vulnerable group made up largely of immigrants, many of whom are undocumented and thus readily exploited, and work for little or even no pay in glossy salons, subsisting on tips.
“This legislation will quickly expand the tools and resources at our disposal to bring this abuse to an end,” Mr. Cuomo said in a statement. “May this also serve as a notice to the employers of all other industries: New York will vigorously uphold the high moral principles of this state to protect all workers."
Under the new law, running an unlicensed salon would become a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500. The New York Department of State would be able to shut unlicensed businesses.
Manicurists have long been required to obtain a license to paint and file nails, but in reality, a large proportion do not. The new law would create a new class of worker — a trainee — who, after registering with the state, may, for a period of time, ply the trade while working toward obtaining a license via of hands-on experience and classes.
Immediately after The Times’s articles about nail salons were published in early May, the governor convened a task force to address issues in the industry, such as unpaid wages, tax fraud and not carrying workers’ compensation, as business owners must.
Several emergency regulations to protect the health of workers were also put into place, like making gloves mandatory when chemicals like acetone are handled by workers, many of whom suffer from burning eyes and throats, and even more serious problems like cancer and miscarriages that may be linked to the chemicals they touch and breathe every day.
The measures expected to be approved on Thursday codify at least one of those regulations: Nail salons would be required to be bonded, that is, carry a type of insurance against wage fraud, so that in the event the employers are found to have underpaid workers, the owners cannot rapidly sell their assets and claim to be unable to pay — a tactic used frequently in such cases.
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