Nail salon workers fight for safer workplaces, higher pay, full set of changes

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith | Paste BN

When nail salon worker Bina KC caught COVID-19, she thought her employer would have some consideration after she toiled many hours manicuring, pedicuring, and other tasks at the Manhattan nail salon.

Instead, she heard nothing, leaving her hurt and pondering her working conditions and pay. She earned the minimum wage of $15 in the city, but it would be siphoned off after owners adjusted hours.

"I began questioning myself that why am I working here?" she recalled. "If I were to work in a different industry - or a private company, then their employers would have taken care of (me)"

Today, she is one of the thousands of New York nail salon workers asking for consistent, equitable payment of the $15 minimum wage and upgrades to poor ventilation that can cause harmful chemicals to linger in their bodies.

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Building off decades of advocacy, she and the Nepalese-speaking group Adhikaar is working to pass the Nail Salon Minimum Standards Council Act, creating a panel of workers, employers and state officials to help establish new workplace stances on wages and time-off.

In recent years, the state passed regulations and laws that raised the minimum wage to $15, created a bill of rights for nail salon workers, and mandated that nail salons have ventilation.

"We made significant progress in eliminating the tipped wage for nail salon workers in 2019, but that information has either not reached many nail salon workers or is being skirted by a reduction in hours and other forms of wage theft," said state Sen. Jessica Ramos, chair of the New York Senate Labor Committee.

If passed, the legislation would build off the state's efforts at reforming the nail salon industry, aided in part by a two-part New York Times expose in 2015 highlighting nail technicians' meager pay and how chemicals used in shops may lead to respiratory issues and birth ailments.

Daisy Chung, of the New York Healthy Nail Salons Coalition, said not all of the state's reforms have trickled down to nail salon workers, partially because of the competitive nature of the industry in New York and the pandemic.

Also, in the past, Korean and Chinese nail associations in New York have fought reforms such as wage bonds to help owners pay workers. The associations could not be reached for comment for this article.

"Despite these reforms, the industry is really in a race to the bottom," Chung said. "It's driving down wages for workers, and it's threatening to put respectable ... nail salon owners out of business."

Competition drives down service costs and wages

In portions of New York City, labor advocates said nail salons take up much of the street real estate, creating insatiable competition and driving down costs. That brew makes it difficult for nail salon owners to pay workers a higher wage.

According to a study from Cornell University in New York, the New York area has more per capita nail salons than anyplace else in the country. The following highest areas are in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

In New York City, a manicure averaged $13.71, compared with the $17.35 statewide, according to the study from Cornell University.

A trade organization found that a basic manicure across the country averaged slightly more than $20, the research cited. Moreover, a 2018 survey of nail salon owners and technicians found that competition and too many discounts were top issues.

As a result, wage theft abounds primarily for women workers, who are nearly 75% of Asian descent and about 21% Hispanic.

Nail salons pose health risks

From chemical fumes from nail supplies to UV lights used for gel manicures, nail technicians are exposed to many health and safety risks, workers and state officials said.

Many workers complain that they are not given masks, gloves and other protective gear to protect them from the fumes. They also complain of working in tight corners, with no ventilation to let the air disperse.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, some nail technicians have complained that even more chemicals are used to help sanitize spaces.

The "toxic trio," or formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and toluene, are common chemicals used in nail salons, the Cornell research said. The three have been linked with long-term effects, including reproductive harm, some cancers and other health issues.

When Maya Bhusal Basnet, a nail salon worker in New York City, went to the doctor to explain a persistent cough and skin issues in her hands, the doctor said it was coming from working with the chemicals.

"The doctor told me to leave that job," she said. "But I could not change."

When she told her employer that the chemicals made it difficult to work, he told her, "you can go" if you are not comfortable working.

Basnet left the shop in 2011 after working for her old employer for years. Now she works in a shop with better ventilation, but she remains concerned about the increased use of chemicals during the pandemic.

The New York Department of State implemented several reforms, such as personal protective equipment and ventilation requirement. The ventilation provision will go into effect in October 2022 for all businesses after the effective date was extended amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Still, the department began doing some inspections of businesess. The department focused much of its assessments on nail salons, with 323 checks between October and mid-December, state officials said at an April committee meeting. They found 246 vent violations.

Because of the layouts of some shops, a state official told the board it might be impossible or challenging to introduce the correct ventilation standards. They added that changing ventilation can also be costly.

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith covers race and history reporter for Paste BN. Click here for her latest stories. Follow her on Twitter @T_Cusaac.

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