These Nail Salons Have to Pay a Shocking Amount for Federal Employment Law Violations

In May of last year, news broke that many New York employers in the nail salon industry had been taking advantage of their employees. In response, Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered the formation of a specialized task force dedicated to investigating federal employment law violations among nail salons throughout the state.

In the year following its inception, the Nail Salon Industry Task Force has investigated 383 of the 450 salons chosen for review. So far, it has found 143 salons that violated the wage and hour rights of 652 workers. The task force has ordered those salons to repay their employees for those violations, which include failure to pay minimum wage and overtime.

Federal Employment Law Violations in NY Nail Salons

According to The News and a spokesperson for Cuomo, many nail salon workers were being paid as little as $3 or $4 per hour, which is far less than the minimum wage. In addition, a number of employers regularly denied their employees overtime pay despite them working more than 40 hours per week.

Many employers even went as far as to deny payment to new employees altogether for the first month or so, while charging them $200 or more for training. Others would charge workers fees for gloves and masks even though the salons are supposed to provide those supplies.

Cuomo gave a statement in which he said that the state is “cracking down like never before” and that federal employment law violations like the ones committed by New York’s nail industry will not be tolerated.

Employment law violations like failure to pay minimum wage or overtime can seriously hurt a person’s ability to earn enough for a decent living, which is why Dallas employment lawyer Dan A. Atkerson takes pride in helping people who are victims of these violations fight for their right to fair treatment.