BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1125|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1125
Author: Nguyen (R)
Amended: 3/28/16
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS, PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 4/18/16
AYES: Hill, Bates, Berryhill, Block, Galgiani, Hernandez,
Jackson, Mendoza, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Employment relations: nail care salons: labor law
compliance
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires the Board of Barbering and
Cosmetology (BBC), for an establishment license, if the
establishment will offer nail care services, to include a signed
acknowledgement that an applicant understands their
responsibility to comply with any applicable state labor laws
and comply with the informational materials BBC selects or
develops related to basic labor laws.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Provides for the licensure regulation of the practice of
barbering, cosmetology, and electrolysis under the Barbering
and Cosmetology Act (Act) by BBC.
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2) Establishes nail care as a specialty branch in the practice
of cosmetology and defines nail care as the practice of
cutting, trimming, polishing, coloring, tinting, cleansing,
manicuring, or pedicuring the nails of any person or
massaging or beautifying from the elbow to the fingertips or
the knee to the toes of any person. (Business and
Professions Code (BPC) § 7316 (c) (2))
3) Defines "establishment" as any premises, building or part of
a building where any activity licensed under the Act is
practiced and sets forth requirements for licensure as an
establishment by BBC. (BPC §§ 7346-7352)
4) Requires an employer that permits patrons to pay gratuities
by credit card to pay the employees the full amount of the
gratuity that the patron indicated on the credit card slip,
without any deductions for any credit card payment processing
fees or costs that may be charged to the employer by the
credit card company. (Labor Code (LAB) § 351)
This bill requires BBC, for an establishment license, if the
establishment will offer nail care services, to include a signed
acknowledgement that an applicant understands their
responsibility to comply with any applicable state labor laws
and comply with the informational materials BBC selects or
develops related to basic labor laws.
Background
The author's district includes the largest number of Vietnamese
residents outside of Vietnam. According to the author, in just
three of the 12 cities in the district, there are approximately
25,000 licensed cosmetologists. The author believes that it is
important to be mindful of the cultural sensitivity around the
communication with nail salon workers whether it is in English
or Vietnamese and that sometimes basic labor laws can be
overlooked. The author believes that having an establishment
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licensee sign an acknowledgement form will help with the overall
understanding of California's labor laws, thus helping to
reinforce that all help reinforce that all nail care
establishments are on the same page regarding state labor laws.
Nail care in California. Nail care is a specialty branch in the
field of cosmetology. In California, a licensed cosmetologist
can practice nail care and BBC also licenses manicurists as a
separate license category. To become a licensed manicurist, an
applicant must submit proof of completion to BBC of 400 training
hours training covering all practices of a manicurist. BBC
currently licenses 126,872 manicurists, 310,041 cosmetologists
(whom can also perform nail care services) and 52,785
establishments. BBC does not include information in its
establishment license data to differentiate between an
establishment offering nail care services specifically or those
offering other personal beautification services.
Concerns about nail salons and experiences of nail salon
employees. Nail salons have been the focus of studies and media
reports in recent years stemming from health, safety and labor
concerns in these settings. In May 2015, the New York Times
(NYT) published two articles stemming from interviews with more
than 150 nail salon workers and owners that found that a cast
majority of workers are paid below minimum wage and are
sometimes not even paid. The articles found that workers
"endure all manner of humiliation, including having their tips
docked as punishment for minor transgressions, constant video
monitoring by owners, even physical abuse." The NYT also found
that employers are rarely punished for labor and other
violations and that in 2014, when the New York State Labor
Department conducted its first nail salon sweep; investigators
inspected 29 salons and found 116 wage violations. While only
about a quarter of the more than 100 workers said they were paid
an amount equivalent to the state's minimum hourly wage, all but
three said they had wages withheld in ways considered illegal,
such as never getting overtime and many were unaware that
working unpaid was against the law and their alarmingly low
wages are also illegal.
A February 2016 follow up report in the NYT articles found that
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40 percent of the salons inspected, as part of the Labor
Department's increased efforts to inspect following the original
May articles, had underpaid employees, including one worker at a
Manhattan salon who was paid $30 a day for 10-hour shifts, a
manicurist in Queens who was paid only $200 for a 50-hour
workweek, manicurists at seven salons who were forced to work
for no pay or had to pay salon owners a fee, ostensibly to learn
the trade and several owners admitted to submitting fake payroll
records in an effort to fool investigators. The article
highlighted that employers are often unfamiliar with the
intricacies of state labor laws.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified5/4/16)
Professional Beauty Federation of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/4/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Supporters note that this bill seeks
to send a clear message to salon owners that they are legally
obligated to follow all applicable labor laws in their
operations and treatment of their employees.
Prepared by:Sarah Mason / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
5/4/16 15:04:10
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