Saturday, May 30, 2015

New York Nail Salons Now Required to Post Workers’ Bill of Rights





 
The posters describe minimum-wage requirements for tipped and untipped workers, and include a list of safety measures that salon owners are legally required to provide to workers.


Effective immediately, every nail salon in New York will be required to post a manicurists’ bill of rights in clear sight of customers and employees, the latest effort by city and state leaders to curb the widespread exploitation of workers in the sprawling nail salon industry.

The placards, unveiled on Friday by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York City public advocate, Letitia James, are poised to become a new fixture of the city’s interior landscape, like the ubiquitous posters in restaurants that show first aid for choking victims and the printed encouragements in restrooms for employees to wash their hands.

In large fonts and bright colors, the posters describe minimum-wage requirements for tipped and untipped workers, and include a list of safety measures that salon owners are legally required to provide to employees, like a face mask and gloves.



“These are your rights regardless of immigration status,” the posters read, in an acknowledgment by New York officials that undocumented salon workers are especially vulnerable to exploitation. A telephone number to call to report violations is also listed.


Officials are also planning to distribute an information card to increase consumer awareness.

The posters will be printed in 10 languages, including Chinese, Korean and Spanish, according to the governor’s office.

To increase consumer awareness, officials also plan to distribute an information card, listing the “top five things to ask when entering nail salons.” The card includes questions about adequate ventilation, the presence of a business license and whether the manicurists’ bill of rights is clearly visible.

“We’re asking New Yorkers to help; we’re asking New Yorkers to get involved,” Mr. Cuomo said at a news conference in Midtown Manhattan, with Ms. James at his side. He urged salon customers who spotted violations to “walk out the door, go down the block, patronize another business.”

The process of reforming the industry, Mr. Cuomo said, could happen more quickly if customers spent their money only at salons that appear to meet proper standards. “Nobody can do it faster than the consumer can do it,” he said. “Nobody can do it faster than the marketplace can do it.”

The governor has also introduced legislation that would give regulators more authority to penalize, or in some cases shut down, salons that are found to have mistreated workers.

Ms. James, the public advocate, said in an interview on Friday that she was pleased with the efforts to keep salon patrons and workers better informed.
Ms. James, whose office published a report last year highlighting the poor conditions for salon workers, said she would also urge state officials to significantly increase the number of inspectors to enforce new regulations.

Customers, Ms. James said, may not always speak the language of the workers they meet at a salon, and she expressed concerned that some patrons would not take the time to check on their surroundings.

“The best efforts are going to be made on the ground with community-based organizations and advocacy groups that have a relationship with these workers, and speak their native language,” Ms. James said.

The public advocate’s office is sponsoring a bill in the City Council that would require salons to register with the city and would provide incentives to businesses to meet higher safety standards.

The office of Mayor Bill de Blasio sponsored an event last week in which hundreds of volunteers visited more than 1,000 salons around the city to distribute information to workers about wages, paid sick leave and how to limit exposure to potentially harmful chemicals in nail products.

At Friday’s news conference, Mr. Cuomo said that New York had about 3,300 salons, “more per capita than any state in the nation.”

“If the owners of the illegal nail salons see that they are losing business, I think that is the most effective compliance mechanism we can use,” the governor said.

Mr. Cuomo opened his remarks by saying with a smile, “I have no great amount of personal interaction with nail salons, I want you to know.”

But the governor conceded that he had “paid more than my share to nail salons” on behalf of his three daughters, whom he described as manicure and pedicure enthusiasts.

“I thought they were their friends, ‘mani’ and ‘pedi,’ ” the governor said, to laughter.