Can Cuomo's commission save nail salon workers from abuse?

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced new “emergency” protections for nail salon workers on Monday, following a New York Times report on their working conditions. While the report sparked a firestorm of media commentary and tweets, the news was not a revelation to the New York Department of Labor. An investigation of 29 nail salons uncovered 116 violations a year ago.

Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir interviewed more than 150 nail salon workers and owners. Her story details the plight of workers who, after paying fees of up to $200 for a nail salon job, worked long hours with potentially toxic chemicals often for little to no pay.

There are now more than 17,000 nail salons in the United States. The number of salons in New York City has more than tripled over a decade and a half to nearly 2,000 in 2012. While the number of nail salons has skyrocketed in recent years, the price of a typical manicure has remained relatively unchanged. With prices low and an improving economy, a manicure has become an affordable indulgence for many.

Cuomo pledged his emergency protection would include a new task force to recover unpaid wages and shut down unlicensed businesses, create new health regulations, and require salons to post signs in a half-dozen languages that inform workers of their rights. The task force also will do outreach to encourage workers to come forward and conduct salon-by-salon investigations.

Though not addressed in the Times’ articles, the exploitation of undocumented workers points to the growing problem of illegal immigration as well as labor violations. According to Census Bureau numbers, 59 percent of personal-appearance workers are foreign-born. Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studiesestimates about a quarter of those foreign workers are illegal, with a higher number in New York City. But the agencies involved in the city’s task force will not inquire about workers’ immigration status as part of their investigations, the governor’s office said.

“The article highlighted a significant problem in New York State,” said Alphonso B. David, counsel for the governor. Cuomo’s office decided to take emergency measures because it believed the usual route involving a period for public comment would be too time-consuming. “We cannot wait to address the problem,” David said.

The beauty industry has several advocacy groups that have tried to raise awareness of worker exploitation for years. The NY Healthy Nail Salon Coalition, testified at a hearing for the introduction of a bill designed to improve the safety and health of nail salons.

“This is a place where people come to feel beautiful,” nail salon worker Siru Malla testified. “This shouldn’t happen at the expense of workers like us.”

In addition to advocacy groups, several successful lawsuits filed in New York courts alleged a long list of abuses such as: workers paid as little as $1.50 an hour for a 66-hour workweek; workers charged for drinking water; and workers being kicked as they sat on pedicure stools.

Critics of the governor’s plan believe a government solution could cause workers more harm.

“When we’re talking about communities of people whose very existence here has been deemed illegal, the government doesn’t help, it fines and arrests and deports,” wrote Elizabeth Nolan Brown, staff editor at Reason.com. “The best way to actually help people in these communities is to help them help themselves.”