A newly formed task force aims to root out worker abuse in the nail salon industry. NY1’s Lori Chung filed this report.
It's a simple safeguard, but officials say too many manicurists are forced to work without protective gear like gloves—one of many abuses Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to eliminate with a new task force.
"They are extorted and they are victimized. Many of them don't get paid the minimum wage," Cuomo said Monday.
Dozens of inspectors will be deployed to salons to help workers recover unpaid wages and issue fines for safety and health violations. The governor says many workers are reluctant to report problems because they're afraid of revealing their citizenship status.
"Before I worked here, I had a bad experience," says one worker we spoke with, Karla Espinal, through a translator.
She says she was intimidated by an old boss who still owes her money.
"She threatens people, threats like in the sense that ‘You go, I'll do that to you. I won't pay you,’ and so on so because people don't have documents. They get afraid," Espinal says.
The multi-agency initiative is drawing on the resources of the departments of labor, health and tax and finance—more enforcement that could mean more empowerment for salon employees.
“There's some nail salons that do cut corners. I’m not going to lie about that," one person says.
"I think it's great. A lot of these women are really over worked and they're there six, seven days a week," another person says.
As inspectors do their work, Cuomo says customers can also pitch in to help prevent abuses.
“Ask the workers who are there, just say, ‘Do you feel that you are being treated fairly?’ and if the answer is no, go to a different nail salon," he says.
The task force will also work to shut down salons that don't have a proper license to operate. Officials say a similar approach has been used in the past to investigate and root out abuses in the car wash, restaurant and construction industries.