Cuomo Orders Crackdown on Abuse of Nail Salon Workers 'Robbed of Their Most Basic Rights'

By RYAN BONNER (Patch National Staff)

Lawmakers are taking action to curb abuses of nail salon workers following a recent New York Times series entitled “Unvarnished,” which documented the exploitation of workers across the region, including Westchester County.

On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the launch of multi-agency enforcement task force that he says will go to work immediately to prevent unlawful practices and unsafe working conditions in the nail salon industry.

“We will not stand idly by as workers are deprived of their hard-earned wages and robbed of their most basic rights,” Cuomo said in a statement. “This task force will crack down on these kinds of abuses in the nail salon industry, enforce all of New York’s health and safety regulations, and help ensure that no one – regardless of their citizenship status or what language they speak – is illegally victimized by their employer.”

The New York Times exposé details how many nail salon employees face routine ethnic bias and other abuse, along with being grossly underpaid. It also contrasts the workers’ plight with owners’ lives, citing Sophia Hong, who owned Madison Nails in Scarsdale and an expensive art collection in her home in Queens. According to the Times, Hong was sued by an employee In 2010 over overtime, in a case that was settled out of court. Ms. Hong declined to comment for the Times article.

“I am very pleased with the Governor’s quick actions,” said Assemblywoman Sandra Galef (D-Ossining). “ Work places should not create dangers for any of our residents or workers. We need protections in place to make sure people’s health and well-being is not being jeopardized. I am sad to say we are just learning of these dangers now. If we had known of these hazards earlier, we could have ensured a healthier public and safer working conditions which could have saved lives.”

Agencies involved with the new state task force will, according to Cuomo, ”work together to implement new health and safety regulations for nail salon employees and engage in new enforcement actions to recover unpaid wages, issue fines and penalties for violations of all relevant laws and regulations, assess damages and evaluate whether to revoke the license of violators.”

The state task force is strongly urging any worker who has not been paid the proper wages, or anyone concerned about safety, working conditions or other abuses at nail salons to contact the task force at 1-888-469-7365.

Learn more about the task force here. Read the New York Times series here.

Photo: Flickr/Creative Commons/madame.furie

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