Why Salon Owners Use Non-Compete Agreements

A salon’s most valuable asset is its client database. We spend years building it, investing both time and money into its growth. As salon owners, adding to this book is a huge part of our job. It’s one of our core responsibilities. The salon’s success (and everybody’s paychecks) depends on it.

As salon owners, we have a duty to our clients to protect their contact information.

In the past, many salon owners required employees to sign non-compete agreements, assuming that the agreements would not only protect their client information but would also prevent their employees from working for or becoming their competition. 

The vast majority of the contracts I’ve reviewed over the course of my consulting career were not professionally written and would never hold up in court. Most were signed by independent contractors who were not actual employees, so the contract served as nothing more than proof that the salon owner was misclassifying their workers and trying to exert control with the threat of legal action. In the overwhelming majority of cases I’ve been involved in, the salon owner who wrote their own non-compete obviously did not understand that the agreement needed to be specific and reasonable to stand a chance at being enforceable. 

A contract prohibiting a salon professional from working “at any beauty-related business anywhere in the state for a period of 10 years” isn’t reasonable.

In addition to being a poor strategy for securing client data, non-competes foster resentment. Professionals don’t trust employers whose first move is to prohibit them from working anywhere else. A good deal of professionals sign them anyway, knowing they aren’t likely to stand up in court. It’s past time for all of us to stop playing this game.

Taking Data Protection Seriously

In an era where personal information is valuable and people are scared to share their email or phone number with every business that asks for it, each name on your client list is a small victory of confidence and good faith. In general, people with any level of tech-savvy are worried that anything they sign up for will lead to spam texts and scam calls. When clients are willing to share their info with you, you must treat it as a sacred trust. To keep that trust, you need to make sure that you are following proper security protocols when it comes to protecting your client list.

Any information a client provides to the business belongs to the business, and as the business owner, it is your job to keep that information secure.

Data theft prohibitions provide a clear and enforceable solution. They align with existing confidentiality and intellectual property laws, making them much easier to defend.

You’ll need to find an attorney, preferably one who specializes in employment law. They will ensure your agreements are legally sound, enforceable, and tailored to comply with your state laws. Once you’ve found someone qualified, explain that you require both a data theft protection agreement and a non-solicitation agreement.

Prohibiting Data Theft

A data theft protection agreement (also known as a data security agreement, data protection agreement, or data security agreement) will prohibit employees from stealing confidential client information. Before meeting with your attorney, get your needs and preferences on paper. This will help them understand the purpose of the agreement and hopefully reduce the amount of consulting required before they begin composing the draft.

Define what constitutes data theft. Your agreement should explicitly prohibit the following actions regarding the salon’s client database:

• Downloading
• Copying
• Photographing
• Transferring
• Printing
• Accessing for Personal Use
• Sharing 
• Altering with Malicious Intent

Provide notice of intent to prosecute violators. Make the consequences clear up-front. Any violation of the policy will result in disciplinary action, including termination of employment and prosecution for data theft. 

Require a signature. The agreement requires its own separate acknowledgment (“By signing, employees agree to comply…” yada yada, you know how it goes) and its own date and signature fields. Don’t merely stuff it into your employee handbook. Make sure to get that separate acknowledgment of receipt. 

Prohibiting Solicitation

With the data theft prohibition, you’ve made it clear that you consider information theft a crime and that you’ll exercise your legal rights to the fullest—now go a tiny bit further. Ask your trusted attorney to also write a non-solicitation agreement.

IN ADDITION TO PROHIBITING DATA THEFT, PROHIBIT CLIENT AND EMPLOYEE SOLICITATION.

We’re running professional businesses. Again: clients have entrusted you with their contact information. Nothing looks more unprofessional than a disgruntled former employee emailing everyone on your list, or—god forbid—making phone call after phone call to “inform” clients that they no longer work for you. And nothing feels worse than an employee secretly convincing half of your employees that they’d be “better off” working at the new salon they’re opening right down the street. 

A non-solicitation agreement prohibits any employee from attempting to lure the salon’s clients and employees from your business.

Define what constitutes solicitation. Just as with the data theft prohibition, this agreement should first define solicitation. Generally, solicitation refers to “any attempt to encourage, entice, or request clients or employees to leave the salon or do business with a competitor.” (Make the attorney who writes this for you work for their money by ensuring that the terms are in alignment with any guidelines in your jurisdiction.) 

Prohibitive conduct should include:

• Using any confidential information, including client contact information, to solicit business, and
• Encouraging or inducing any employee to join a competing business.

Acknowledge the employee’s obligation to keep proprietary information confidential. By signing, the employee is affirming that they are obligated to keep client lists and all contact details confidential and to never use such information for the purpose of solicitation.

Outline the consequences. Have your attorney guide you here. Legal remedies vary based on state laws and judicial interpretations.

Protecting Your Assets

These two agreements secure your legitimate business assets without unnecessarily restricting a worker’s ability to participate in the workforce. So long as the professional has agreed not to steal client data or solicit clients, you shouldn’t care if they take a job at the salon across the street.

Ethical salon owners do not hold industry professionals or clients hostage.

If you want to know how to handle the clients without looking sloppy or petty after a popular, established professional leaves, read my article: Who Do the Clients Belong To?

How to Secure Your Salon’s Client Database

Your client database is your salon’s most critical asset—protect it like it’s your social security number.

Control access. The management software you’re using should come with some kind of usergroup permissions controls. Generally, these systems allow you to categorize users by access level, ensuring that employees have access only to the information they absolutely need to have access to. 

• Salon professionals only require access to their schedule, which should show the client’s name and the service they’re booked for. If the software allows you to control report access, you may allow them to access their personal performance reports (but not those of any other employee). Professionals should never have access to client contact information or the ability to access/download the client database.
• Receptionists only require access to the schedule and client phone numbers. They should not have access to client email or home addresses, nor should they have the ability to access/download the client database.
• Salon managers require access to the majority of the software’s features, particularly employee scheduling and reports. They may require access to the salon’s client database, but they should never have access to features that allow them to download databases or manipulate administrative settings.
• Only salon owners require full admin access. As the salon owner, you should be the only user capable of accessing everything. Nobody else should have your password. Every time you leave a device, you must ensure to log out, requiring the next user to log in.

Getting Serious About Tech

If you’re like many of the clients I consult for who are only now moving from cash boxes and huge desk calendars to digital card readers and sleek tablets, you might be feeling overwhelmed by the software options available and how to configure them. 

Don’t feel bad—you aren’t the only salon owner who can barely operate their own email, let alone a sophisticated salon management software program. 

As a career salon manager and a salon owner myself, I’m extremely informed about and experienced with the majority of the industry’s leading systems. Book a consulting appointment today and I’ll be happy to help you find the solution that’s best for your individual business. I am not affiliated with any of the salon software companies (despite how hard all of them have tried over the last fifteen years), so all of my opinions and endorsements are fully based on my personal experience.

Fake News

While attempting to research this article, I came upon far too many opinion-based libertarian lobbying blogs, so I’m anticipating some severely misinformed questions in the comments—and I don’t blame anyone for them. The fear-mongering is ridiculous; I saw one writer lamenting the fact that “the new law” disallows workers from determining or waiving their status, but that has always been the case.

Workers can’t choose exploitative work arrangements that violate federal law any more than people can sign contracts agreeing to unlawful arrangements. 

Several writers argued that this is a “major change” that will bring disaster to workers, business owners, and the economy, but what they’re really telling you is how little they understand the world we’re all living in, where misclassification and wage theft are the default business strategy, not rare exceptions, and where business owners are not receiving the education, guidance, or support required to be both compliant and profitable. 

If you’ve been pushed to the brink of panic by these clowns, take a deep breath: at no time has the definition of the word “independent contractor” changed in this country. The rules provide guidance to help workers and employers understand the law (that is literally their entire purpose for existing), but the actual law in this area is very well-established. Only people who want to lean on ignorance as a defense for their bad behavior consider clarity a threat to their freedom. 

The DOL’s rule change simplifies classification, making it more accessible and comprehensive. This should make violations far less likely, which is a win for everyone involved.

The “new” method is more illustrative; it explains itself fairly well. The way each factor is broken down and clarified—with two examples for each—should make it easier for employers to recognize improper use of the independent contractor classification and avoid the consequences associated with misclassification. 

The Difference Between Laws and Rules

The first thing you need to understand is that laws and rules are not the same thing, and anyone attempting to conflate the two deserves serious side-eye.

Laws are codified by legislative bodies (state or federal) and must be adhered to by everyone who falls under that legislature’s jurisdiction.

Rules are detailed frameworks developed by various government agencies to provide guidance. They clarify the law so the public understands how to comply and so the judges who must enforce the law understand how they are applied in practical scenarios. Various agencies are required by law to enforce these rules. (A judge can’t decide not to apply these six factors, for example.) 

The core legal definition of an independent contractor under the FLSA hasn’t fundamentally changed.

The rules help to clarify the DOL’s position and provide insight into how the law should be interpreted and applied; the rule change doesn’t change the law itself. The statutory law and underlying regulations here are very much the same—only the analytical lens through which worker classification is determined has been changed.

Brief History of Worker Classification Guidelines

In 2021, the DOL moved from a five-factor “economic reality” test to a system weighing two core factors: the nature and degree of control the employer had over the work, and the worker’s opportunity for profit or loss. 

The DOL believes this approach didn’t “fully comport” with the text and purpose of the FLSA as interpreted by the courts because the rule included provisions that conflicted with longstanding case law and the established guidance provided by the DOL. Overall, the rule narrowed the test by excising factors the DOL considers relevant when making a determination about a worker’s status. Plus, it departed from decades of case law, which could confuse workers and business owners. 

For those who know a thing or two about US labor and employment laws, the real problem was the prohibition against examining whether the work performed was “central or important” to the employer’s business. It’s a pretty critical element to consider. 

Ultimately, the tests are similar in the following ways, per the DOL’s FAQs:

Both rules identify economic dependence as the “ultimate inquiry” of the analysis; both rules provide a non-exhaustive list of factors to assess economic dependence; and both rules caution that no single factor is determinative. Both rules also clarify that economic dependence does not focus on the amount of income the worker earns, or whether the worker has other sources of income.

The important thing to know is that none of this is likely to negatively impact anyone who was in compliance to begin with.

Per the WHD’s guidance regarding the 2024 Worker Classification Rule:

The Department emphasized that “because this final rule is aligned with longstanding case law, the Department does not anticipate that independent contractors (who sometimes also self-identify as freelancers or small/micro business owners) who are correctly classified as independent contractors under current circuit case law would be reclassified applying the guidance provided in this rule.” 89 Fed. Reg. 1659. 

If your practices currently align more closely with the looser 2021 Rule, it’s time to reevaluate to ensure you’re still in compliance.

The Six-Factor Test for Determining Worker Classification

Factor 1: Opportunity for Profit or Loss Depending on Managerial Skill

Does the worker exercise managerial skill that affects their economic success or failure? Can the worker negotiate the pay, determine whether they accept or decline jobs, and choose the order and/or time in which the jobs are performed? Does the worker engage in marketing, pay for advertising, or take efforts to expand their business or secure more work? Does the worker have the authority to hire others, purchase materials and equipment, or rent space?

• Interpretation: This factor evaluates whether the worker actually exercises independent effort and decisionmaking, without the employer’s influence or an expectation to comply with the employer’s requirements or limitations.
• The Focus: Does the worker call the shots when it comes to their business, or is their independence theoretical at best?

Factor 2: Investments by the Worker and Employer 

Are any of the worker’s investments capital or entrepreneurial in nature?

• Interpretation: Costs borne by a worker to perform their duties are not considered evidence of capital or entrepreneurial investment. This factor examines the degree to which the worker makes investments in their own business’s growth. 
• The Focus: Does the worker make similar types of investments as the employer or investments of the type that would allow the worker to operate independently in the worker’s industry or field?

Factor 3: Degree of Permanence of the Work Relationship 

Is the work relationship indefinite or continuous in duration?

• Interpretation: This factor examines the nature and length of the work relationship.
• The Focus: How independent is the worker, as a matter of economic reality?

Factor 4: Nature and Degree of Control 

Who sets the worker’s schedule? Does the employer supervise or monitor the worker’s performance? Is the worker limited or prohibited from working for others? Who sets the service prices? Who controls the marketing?

• Interpretation: This factor aims to determine whether the worker has sufficient autonomy to be considered an independent contractor.
• The Focus: How much control does the employer have over the performance of the work and the economic aspects of the working relationship?

Factor 5: Extent to Which the Work Performed is an Integral Part of the Employer’s Business 

Is the work critical, necessary, or central to the employer’s business? 

• Interpretation: This factor does not depend on whether any individual worker in particular is an integral part of the business. 
• The Focus: Is the work they perform an integral part of the business?

Factor 6: Skill and Initiative 

Does the worker use specialized skills to perform the work? Do those skills contribute to business-like initiative? Is the worker dependent on training from the employer to perform the work? If the worker brings specialized skills to the work relationship, it indicates that the worker is an independent contractor.

• Interpretation: Any worker can be skilled, so the fact that the worker is skilled doesn’t indicate one status or the other.
• The Focus: Does the worker use their skills in a manner that evidences business-like initiative? 

The Totality of Circumstances

None of these factors alone are considered definitive. Instead, the DOL looks over the totality-of-circumstances, analyzing the entire working relationship before making a determination.

The primary question the test seeks to answer is this: As a matter of economic reality, is the worker dependent on the employer for work, or are they truly in business for themselves? (See: Fact Sheet 13.)

According to the DOL’s announcement (which I recommend reading in full), the March 2024 Rule returns to “an analysis that is more consistent with judicial precedent and the Act’s text and purpose.” Once again, these are not “new laws,” they merely clarify the application of existing laws. 

Regardless of your situation or position in the salon, it’s worthwhile to read every bit of guidance provided, whether the law itself is changing or not. (I say it a lot, but know your rights.) Once you understand the factors, you’ll know misclassification when you see it. 

In case you missed it, back in June of 2023, Christine Geiger, a salon owner in Traverse City, Michigan, decided to drop the following “hot take” via her salon’s Facebook page:

“If a human identifies as anything other than a man/woman please seek services at a local pet groomer. You are not welcome at this salon. Period. Should you request to have a particular pronoun used please note we may simply refer to you as ‘hey you.’”

One can assume she must have thought she was being very clever and very funny, but shortly after, three people filed certified complaints. Christine doubled-down, saying she “has no problems with the LGB. It’s the TQ+ that I’m not going to support,” she posted. “For those that don’t know what the + is for, it’s for MAP (Minor Attracted Person aka: pedophile).” 

The plus sign in the LGBTQ+ acronym is actually a placeholder for queer identities who don’t neatly fit into the acronym, but none of them are in any way holding space for child abusers. 

Christine defended her stance, saying small business owners should be able to serve whomever they wish. Given the timing, she was likely emboldened by the Supreme Court’s ruling involving 303 Creative, a web designer who refused to make wedding websites for same-sex couples, saying it would violate her sincerely held religious beliefs because, by doing so, she would be forced to express a message celebrating and promoting a conception of marriage that she believes is contrary to God’s design. 

The court held that a person’s First Amendment rights would be violated in situations where they are forced to express a message contrary to their religious beliefs. The court did not say that business owners may ignore state or federal anti-discrimination laws. The constitutional carveout applies only to expressive conduct: behavior designed to convey a message. (It’s also important to note that the case was based on a theoretical scenario; there were no actual aggrieved customers involved.)

As the news about Christine’s Facebook post spread—first in Traverse City community groups and then nationally—protesters stood outside the salon chanting and holding signs. The salon’s Google and Yelp pages were flooded with negative reviews. Christine’s distributor, Jack Winn Pro, revoked her authorization to represent their brand or sell their products. 

“Jack Winn Pro strongly believes in and supports LGBTQ+ rights. We are committed to creating an inclusive, respectful environment for all – regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristics that define who they are,” the company posted. 

Apparently this free speech Christine did not like very much. She attempted to sue Traverse City and the three people who filed complaints (whom she accused of being “state actors”). 

After a brief attempt at turning her salon’s Facebook page into a “political memes page,” Christine made her business’ social media accounts private. Phone calls to the salon went straight to a voicemail box that was not accepting new messages. 

A business that chooses to sell to the public assumes a duty to serve the public without unjust discrimination.

Justice Sonya Sotomayor

Christine’s case against Traverse City and the alleged “state actors” was dismissed last week.

Today, we’re going to talk about freedom of speech, gender diversity, and how to navigate social shifts that might be a bit hard to adjust to if the only information you’re receiving is from biased partisan sources. Ultimately, this post aims to correct any misinformation you may have been exposed to. 

This article provides a basic overview explaining how gender differs from sex, why you should care, and how you can ensure your salon is an inclusive place of public accommodation.

What Freedom of Speech Is (and Isn’t)

The first and most important thing to know is that freedom of speech doesn’t guarantee you immunity from consequences. The First Amendment is why you can complain about your government without fear of secret police pulling up in a windowless van and snatching you up off the street. It’s why Congress can’t mandate church attendance. It’s why people like me can post things on the internet without running them past a government censorship board for approval first. It’s why people were allowed to pick up signs and protest outside Christine’s salon. It’s why Christine and others like her can petition the government when they feel it’s not acting in their best interests.

The First Amendment does not shield all forms of expression unconditionally.

The US has a high threshold for restricting speech, but certain categories of speech—direct threats, incitement, obscenity, and defamation—are subject to regulation. Christine Giger’s dehumanizing FB post is hate speech (“abusive or threatening speech or writing that expresses prejudice on the basis of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or similar grounds”), which is not constitutionally protected.

As a private citizen, there’s nothing stopping Christine from expressing her views, but she operates a business—a place of public accommodation—and she conveyed a discriminatory message through its social media profiles. 

Places of public accommodation (which Studio 8 most certainly is) are not allowed to discriminate against protected classes, as outlined in Title II of The Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

The Civil Rights Act is why you can’t ban Black or Hispanic clients. It’s why you can’t refuse services to Muslims, French people, or everyone presenting as male. Christine may not “want the woke dollar,” but if a business chooses to profit from the public market, which is established and maintained by the state, the state may require the business to abide by a legal norm of nondiscrimination.

Unfortunately, our federal government hasn’t yet included transgender people in these protections, but Christine’s state of Michigan sure has.

Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, and public services based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status. The Elliott-Larsen Act was amended in 2023 to add greater protections over sexual orientation and gender identity. Unfortunately, the legislation did not take effect until February 2024, long after Christine made a strong case for the amendment’s necessity.

Understanding Gender Identity

For the rest of this section, I’m going to assume that you (the reader) know almost nothing about the queer community. (If you already know these things, consider this a refresher.) Let’s get some foundational facts out of the way:

Biological sex and gender identity are not the same thing. 

Biological sex refers to chromosomes, hormones, and genitalia—features none of us chose but all of us are born with. Biological sex is typically binary—male (XY) or female (XX)—but exceptions do exist (we can leave that to the geneticists, all you need to know is that biological sex itself isn’t quite as binary as most people believe).

Gender identity is a complex and multifaceted concept relating to social roles and expectations surrounding the concepts of “masculine” and “feminine” within our culture. Over the years, society has come to recognize and acknowledge a spectrum of gender identities, each unique and valid in its own right. Regardless of your biological sex, your identity sits somewhere on this spectrum (masculine at one end, feminine on the other, and non-binary in the middle).

Many people are cisgender, meaning that they identify with the gender role associated with their biological sex, and they don’t feel caged by the expectations society imposes on people with their biological sex.

Transgender people, by contrast, do not feel their biological sex and gender roles are in alignment. (Yes, it really is that simple.) 

Traditional gender roles assert a heteronormative patriarchal system, where people must dress and behave a certain way based on their biological sex. These rules are messy, complicated, and constantly changing. However, we have been pushing against the borders of these restrictive boxes for decades. Katherine Hepburn offended and outraged the public by wearing pants (“the gateway drug to female perversion”) in the early 1930s. More recently, Billy Porter slayed in a tuxedo dress at the Oscars in 2019. We are no longer content to “push” these arbitrary and oppressive boundaries; we are dismantling them entirely.

Hepburn did a radical thing by refusing to wear dresses in the 1930s, when women were arrested for wearing pants in public and charged with “masquerading as men.” This fact—that women were arrested by police and sent to jail for wearing trousers—seems absolutely ludicrous to us now, as it should.

This is America, land of the free. 

If you genuinely believe in freedom of speech and freedom of expression (as Christine claims to), you should also believe that people should be free to wear whatever clothing they want, just as they should be free to use whatever pronouns they want. 

At no point, in any of this, are you required to endorse pedophiles: literally nobody is doing that, and if they are, they should be reported to law enforcement immediately.

The patriarchal gender role system was designed to reinforce male dominance and control over women. These structured gender roles placed men in positions of authority and control in both the public and private spheres. Until the 19th century, laws reflected and enforced male dominance. Women were denied the right to own property, enter contracts, or vote. Women were socialized into submissive and nurturing subservient roles, denied opportunity and education, creating conditions that, in addition to forcing heterosexuality, were designed to keep them dependent on men, be it their fathers or husbands. 

This is our history, but these beliefs have no place in our modern society, especially in a country that values equality and freedom of expression as much as ours. Countries that weaponize the law against their citizens based on their biological sex are not nations where any American who values freedom of expression and personal autonomy would want to live.

So, to recap:

• Forcing people to wear clothing based on their biological sex is silly.
• Forcing people to adopt attitudes, values, and sexual preferences based on their biological sex is silly.
• Forcing anyone to conform to a set of nebulous, arbitrary societal rules and expectations based on the biological sex they were assigned at the moment of conception is absolutely silly.

The problem we have as a country is that most people can clearly see the first two ideas as backward and archaic, but some—like Christine—are still struggling to grasp the third.

The Importance of Inclusivity in Salons

Beauty salons and barber shops have a long, rich history as inclusive community spaces where political discussion and grassroots organization happen. From the days of the Madam C. J. Walker Company, change has taken root in our chairs—the women’s liberation movement, the civil rights movement, and now, the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Beauty salons have played a huge but hidden role in shaping our society. 

Salon owners are community leaders, and we should not take that for granted.  

As beauty professionals, our entire business is about personal expression. People come to us because we can make their outer appearance consistent with their inner identity. This is the core of what we do. Personal expression is a fundamental aspect of individual autonomy, and infringing on that right of expression is at extreme odds with our core values of personal freedom and empowering individuality. 

Opposing anyone’s human right to be who they are runs counter to the fundamental ethos of our industry.

Salon owners have an ethical responsibility to create a welcoming environment for all. A discriminatory environment undermines public trust, but it’s also a betrayal. Christine and others like her reflect negatively on those of us who are working hard to ensure our profession is held in high esteem. (I hope I’m conveying exactly how disgusted I am—because I do take this personally, and so should you.)

Every human being who walks into your salon deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. This is what it means to be a professional. 

Salon owners who discriminate face a variety of very unpleasant legal consequences. For instance, Michigan salon owners who publicly share Christine’s sentiment would run afoul of the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act. Individuals who can prove they were discriminated against could file civil lawsuits, pulling the salon owner into lengthy and tremendously expensive proceedings that will certainly destroy the salon’s reputation and its budget. Federal agencies could step in and impose penalties or force the salon owner to take corrective actions.

Inclusivity Best Practices for Salon Owners

Alright, now we can talk about how you can create an inclusive salon that welcomes and supports everyone. 

Advertise inclusivity. When you’re part of a privileged class, it’s easy to overlook or underestimate the challenges and fears faced by those who routinely experience discrimination.  It can be incredibly difficult to fully grasp the depth and breadth of the obstacles and anxieties that individuals from discriminated-against groups endure daily. At this point in our nation’s development, it isn’t enough to silently consider your salon a safe space. 

Visible signage advertising inclusivity is a powerful statement of support and a commitment to creating a safe and welcoming environment for all clients. 

Creating client-facing non-discrimination policies is a great start, but marginalized clients are more likely to notice overt invitations (a cute flag or a window cling, for instance). This signage significantly reduces the anxiety and hesitation a trans person might feel about entering a new space.

When possible, show inclusivity in your marketing materials too—and please don’t limit it to the performative song and dance every business does throughout the month of June.

Every month is Pride Month if you’re truly an inclusive business.

Eliminate sex-based pricing. If you haven’t done away with sex-based pricing ($15 for men, $50 for women), now is the time. 

While sex-based pricing isn’t universally illegal, in some states, general consumer protection or anti-discrimination statutes might be interpreted to cover gender-based pricing, particularly if such pricing can be demonstrated to be discriminatory without a basis in significant differences in the cost or delivery of the service. California passed the Gender Tax Repeal Act, which made it illegal to discriminate against customers based on their gender in terms of pricing. Businesses in California must provide a price list for services, and any price difference must be based on the amount of time, difficulty, or cost of providing the service, not the customer’s sex.

My colleague Jaime Schrabeck and I have advocated gender-neutral pricing for years. If you want to learn more about why, read this article Jaime wrote for Nailpro. (Both of our salons have gender-neutral pricing, so if you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments.)

Train your employees on LGBTQIA+ issues, terminology, and sensitivity. If you felt a twinge of discomfort at the thought of having to gather your employees to discuss how to treat queer people like human beings, that’s exactly why you need to do it.

In the US, a lot of trans people still feel uncomfortable coming out, for good reason. Transgender individuals face disproportionately high rates of violence compared to the cisgender population. In 2022, the U.S. Transgender Survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality found that 47% of transgender people have thought about moving to another state because their state government considered or passed laws that target them for unequal treatment.

In Conclusion

Change is hard. I’m from a small town populated almost entirely by sweet, church-going snowbirds and retirees, so I know how strange and overwhelming this can seem to people who don’t often interface with “the gays.” The concept of gender is so ingrained that seeing anyone subvert our expectations can be alarming at first. Hateful and false rhetoric amplifies the fear and confusion, encouraging our worst impulses.

It’s up to us to do better; nobody said it would be easy.

I understand that this can be hard, but do you know what I would argue is harder? Being the parent of a trans kid, having to worry about the Christines in this world, who are quick to categorize them as subhuman perverts and sexual deviants.

It’s easy to stay silent while people make racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, or transphobic remarks in our chairs or in the break room. It costs us nothing to be neutral, to save ourselves from ridicule or judgment, to protect our salons from becoming collateral damage in a perpetually aggrieved client’s quest to be Facebook Villain of the Day. As a salon owner, I get that. I truly do.

I’m asking you to do the hard thing anyway, because it’s the right thing to do, and now is the time to do it. Make an effort to learn. Maybe also take a second to recognize and respect your professional “ancestors,” who understood that our salons are sacred, intimate spaces where people from diverse backgrounds come together to share and exchange ideas. Catalyzing shifts in societal norms is an important part of our industry’s history and our role in American society. Our communities and our kids deserve nothing but the best from us.

Now is the time to start seeing other people as humans whose chromosomes don’t dictate who they are allowed to be. Appreciate the things that make us individuals. If your love for other people is conditional on them being the exact person you want them to be, figure out why that is. Genuinely try to understand your discomfort, preferably with help from some queer allies who are open to answering any questions you have. 

Additional Resources

If you want to learn more about the history of the trans community in the beauty industry and how you can be a better ally, here are several links to get you started: 

The Salon Professional Academy – Gender Equality in the Beauty Industry
PBL Magazine – Why The Beauty Industry Needs To Do More For Trans And Non-Binary Clients
Salon Services Pro – How Are Salons Creating Safe Spaces?
Boulevard – The Ongoing Legacy of Trans Women in Beauty 
Al.com – Jody Suzanne Ford, trans Birmingham hairdresser shot to death in 1977, paved way for others to live unafraid

In some ways, I sympathize. None of us should be forced to learn skills we don’t need. I get it. I really do.

But unlicensed people don’t get to argue that professional licensing shouldn’t exist. Without a license, Jasmine doesn’t have the training to understand all of the risks an unlicensed person in a salon poses to the general public or the massive liability they pose to the salon owner. 

It’s true that licensing requirements were heavily lobbied for and influenced by for-profit beauty academies looking to bloat their bottom line, but regulations requiring education and licensing were also created to attempt to solve problems and establish a shared value system around objectively good practices.

While each state has different regulations, most overlap in a few key areas. By and large, every regulated state agrees:

• Clients have the right to expect a clean and safe salon experience.
• Those seeking to enter the beauty industry have the right to an education sufficient to guarantee that they can competently perform their duties in the salon while protecting themselves and the public from communicable disorders.
• Professionals and clients have the right to a clean, compliant workplace.
• As an industry, professionals are obligated to ensure all of the above or face penalties including fines, license suspensions, and—in extreme cases—permanent license revocation.

Our state board regulations ensure that professionals and clients alike understand how and why we disinfect our tools between clients, what the standards for salon cleanliness are, what licensing documentation they should expect to see, and where that documentation should be posted in the salon. 

Our licensing requirements guarantee that professionals can—at a very minimum—respond to common first-aid situations (cuts, burns, falls) capably, mix and use state-approved disinfectants properly, and identify symptoms of communicable skin disorders. They also ensure that we understand and practice Universal Precautions. 

These regulations aren’t designed to necessarily serve us; they’re designed to protect the public, including the business owners who are legally liable for anything a service provider does in their facility.

I agree that experience isn’t worthless. However, just because you’ve been doing something for years doesn’t mean you’ve been doing it correctly or safely. Without professional training, you won’t learn that until you happen to make a very, very big mistake (like causing a pink-eye outbreak because you didn’t know not to reuse mascara wands). 

You don’t know what you don’t know.

State Board licensing standards and regulatory requirements are the methods by which our state legislators reassure the public and our employers that we should know what we’re doing—and that if we screw up, there are mechanisms in place to hold us professionally liable for it. The public shouldn’t have to rely on local courts to determine gross negligence when a framework can be provided that guarantees a professional who acts recklessly or carelessly will face professional consequences, like losing their ability to ever legally work in a salon again. These regulations provide protection against malpractice. They’re meant to strongly incentivize licensed professionals to play by the rules and take their obligations to their community seriously. You aren’t supposed to like them.

Instead of arguing that licenses shouldn’t exist, Jasmine should be fighting for the creation of smaller licenses for specialized professions. There’s no denying that makeup artistry is a separate profession from cosmetology. Makeup artists could go their entire careers without ever having to learn anything about mixing chemicals, using and disinfecting sharps, or applying hot wax to a client’s skin. These are things makeup artists don’t do.

Precedents for crafting smaller, more specific licenses already exist. Various states in the U.S. have introduced specialized licenses for services such as hair braiding and body wrapping, acknowledging that these professionals have different needs compared to full cosmetologists. This move towards specialized licenses recognizes the unique skills and training required for specific services, making it more accessible for professionals to enter the industry without undergoing extensive training irrelevant to their specialization.

Does a professional who plans to specialize in braiding need to spend 300 hours learning how to do manicures and pedicures? No. Because that isn’t part of their job. Why should a makeup artist be required to learn how to do hair and nails?

It’s tough being caught in the catch-22 of needing to work to pay for the licenses but needing the license to legally work. Instead of limiting herself to keeping her makeup business as a side-hustle, and risking legal repercussions if caught, she needs to think outside the box and find a legit way to get her needs met and her career on the best possible path.

If I were in Jasmine’s position, I would petition for alternative certification programs, advocate for specialized licensing, and collaborate with the board and other industry peers. It’s far past time for our industry to find innovative, accessible pathways to professional legitimacy that align with individual career goals and legal requirements. 

Today, the salon owner charged my client’s services before the service was over. She refused to give me the money and told me she would put it towards rent, but I never agreed to this, nor did I agree to her taking a percentage from both the sale and my tip.

When I said that I wasn’t going to tolerate this, she claimed that it couldn’t be helped because the client paid with a gift card. I know the client didn’t pay with a gift card, but that’s beside the point, because the owner knows I don’t accept her salon’s gift cards. (Besides that, nowhere in my lease does it say anything about her stupid gift cards!)

After I caught her in the lie, the owner said I’m no longer allowed to receive any walk-ins. Is this legal? Can she seriously refuse me walk-in clients?

I’ve already addressed this topic, but your story provides important insight.

You did everything right. You took every step you could to prevent being taken advantage of. When your landlord pushed your boundaries, you responded immediately. Few have the confidence to do so, and I’m glad to hear you did. Her treatment of you is nothing more than childish, petty retaliation. I’m embarrassed for her.

However, unless your contract states otherwise, you aren’t owed walk-in clients. (More about that here.)

What can you do about it? Unfortunately, not much. You could bring her to small claims court, but the filing fee will likely cost more than the disputed amount, and unless you really want to make a point, it might not be worth your time to pursue.

In these situations, the only thing you really can do is tell her to make things right, or you’ll warn others, starting with your fellow renters.

If she refuses, make good on that promise. Only state what you can confirm—what you’re willing to swear to in court under threat of perjury. Don’t embellish or get creative. Stick to the facts, and keep your emotions in check.

If she threatens to bring you to court—good. Let her. Be sure to update us so we can hear how she rationalized the theft. 

I’m sorry this happened to you. Sometimes, even when you do everything right, you aren’t entirely safe, and even if you’ve clearly been wronged, you might never see justice.

Take a deep breath. Now read this handy list.

Dress conservatively and professionally. No sandals. No jeans. No tank tops. No t-shirts. Dress like you’re going for an interview at a law firm or to a congressman’s funeral. This is not the time to make a fashion statement. Dressing sexy will win you no points here. If you chose to wear a skirt, make sure it’s no shorter than two inches above your knee.

Courts are weirdly formal places. Prepare yourself accordingly.

Keep your makeup minimal and natural. Don’t get crazy with that eye shadow. You want to be taken seriously, so don’t walk into the courtroom with you eyelids covered in rainbow glitter. Remember, you’re entering a place where people tend to care a whole lot about presentation and decorum. Some judges read a little too deeply into fashion choices and what they say about people.

Remove the metal from your face. If you normally wear facial piercings, take them out. They aren’t appropriate to wear to court. I cannot reiterate this enough times:

As stupid as it is, appearances matter. A lot.

Don’t wear a belt or complicated shoes. You will have to remove your shoes and walk through a metal detector before you can enter the courthouse. Make it easy on yourself by leaving your belts and metal accessories at home and wearing flats you can slip into and out of easily. Don’t create unnecessary stress. You’ll likely be a hot mess of nerves to begin with.

When it’s your turn to sit in front of the judge, follow these rules.

Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to. Never show emotion during your opponent’s testimony. You can be nervous, sad, and scared. You cannot be angry, loud, or disrespectful. Judges have zero patience or tolerance for belligerence.

Don’t roll your eyes, sigh, or draw attention to yourself.

Even if the other party lies through their teeth, keep your mouth shut and your attitude in check. Write down your objections and bring them up when it’s your turn to speak. Put on your best poker face and be patient.

Always address the judge with “Your Honor” or “Sir” or “Ma’am,” and never use slang or profanity. When you’re asked a question that requires a yes or no answer, always say “yes ma’am/sir/Your Honor” or “no ma’am/sir/Your Honor.” Never say, “yeah,” “nope,” or “I dunno.”

Don’t go in demanding justice. Do not bark orders at a judge or demand anything from them. Sure, your tax dollars pay their salary, but they don’t work for you. 

You’re at court to reach a peaceful, reasonable resolution, not to fight with your opponent.

Both of you believe you’re right. You can’t come to an agreement, so you are in court to ask the judge to come up with a fair solution based on the information and evidence that each of you collected. Approach it from that perspective–it’s not about winning or losing but having a neutral party evaluate each of your positions and make a decision for you.

You can think that your opponent’s actions were wrong. You can feel your opponent’s action were wrong. You don’t know they were wrong or not. The judge determines that. (Even if you really do know and you have fistfuls of statutes and evidence to support that argument, never go in with the arrogance of assurance.)

In small claims court, don’t be afraid to tell the judge that you’ve never been in court before and you may have questions during the proceedings. Small claims courts are generally pretty mellow. Nobody has attorneys and judges don’t expect you to be competent in court procedure. If you don’t understand what a judge asks of you or what they mean, politely ask for an explanation.

Keep your testimony brief and only testify to what you can prove. This is so, SO important. Do not pop off with a bunch of irrelevant, unverifiable testimony. If you cannot prove a claim, the judge will likely disregard it.

Bring evidence in triplicate. One for you, one for the judge, and one for your opponent.

A lot of professionals panic at the thought of going to court. Don’t be scared. The majority of the time, you’re going to end up in small claims, where the stakes are low and the process is pretty informal. You don’t need an attorney, the rules are relaxed, and if you’re the plaintiff, generally, the worst that can happen is that your case gets dismissed and you lose your filing fee. No biggie. In other proceedings, you’ll have an attorney representing you and doing all the heavy lifting, so relax and focus on controlling the one thing you can control—yourself.

Have you ever been to court? What for? Were you scared? What happened? Tell us about it in the comments!

Let’s start with the questions coming up most frequently in the comments and my inboxes:

Can my boss require us to rent space?

Nobody can “require” you to do anything. You are free to find another job elsewhere or even rent elsewhere. That said, your employer is not required to keep you on their payroll. Employment is “at-will” in all US states. This means your employment may be terminated for any reason, or for no reason at all. (There are unique exceptions to this, but generally, they tend not to apply to workers in our industry.) Should you refuse the offer to rent space in the facility, the owner would be within their rights to terminate your employment.

Is my salon owner trying to take advantage of me and my coworkers by suddenly switching us from employees to renters?

Unless your salon owner is proposing reclassifying you as an independent contractor while continuing to control you like an employee (read more about that here), I would consider it unlikely, given the situation.

The shutdowns caused by coronavirus outbreaks have severely impacted salon revenue. Many salon owners found themselves in a position where their only option was to accept a PPP loan, keep their fingers crossed that they’d qualify for forgiveness, and hope for things to improve before their payments came due. A good deal of them signed these loan agreements during the first round, before the terms were even finalized by the SBA. They found out after the fact that qualifying for forgiveness was going to be harder than they anticipated. Those who didn’t take loans have stretched their savings and their lines of credit to their absolute limits.

Until the widespread deployment of a vaccine, we cannot expect for things to go back to normal completely. Having employees during this time can be prohibitively expensive. Payroll, without question, constitutes our largest expense. While many of these salon owners would love nothing more than to keep their employees on payroll and retain control over their brand and their services, they understand that supporting their normal workforce may not be possible. Many of these salon owners are only turning to rental because they feel they have no choice.

If you were a salon owner, would you rather terminate your employees entirely or convert them to renters?

The salon owners I’ve consulted with who have had to make this choice have not done so without considerable trepidation. None of them had any desire to become landlords. None of them wanted to surrender control of the companies they had worked so hard to establish and grow. But when you find yourself between a rock and another rock, you do what you must.

So, let’s learn about what self employment is, how booth rental works, and what you need to do to lay the groundwork for success.

What does it mean to be a self-employed renter?

If you are a renter, you are self employed. That means you have full control over your business. This arrangement is no different than if you had rented your own storefront. The only thing separating you from a traditional salon owner is that you operate your business under the roof of another salon owner.

This means you:

• Set your own prices and schedule
• Create your own service protocols
• Select and purchase your own products
• Collect your own payments
• Manage your own appointments
• Pay your own taxes
• Have your own business entity, bank account, website, social profiles, booking software, and payment system
• Insure yourself with your own professional liability policy

The person you sign a lease with becomes your landlord, not your employer or manager.

There is no in-between here. You pay for a space to operate your business. The landlord does not get to tell you how to conduct business , what to charge, when to work, or what to wear. They can’t require you to use their branding in your promotional materials, attend mandatory meetings or training sessions, or use their booking or payment software. They also cannot require you to do salon chores or act as a “team player.” From this point forward, there is no team. You’re a business owner operating in direct competition with every professional you work alongside.

This also means that you no longer will be supplied by or managed by the salon owner. The owner does not have to provide you with product, clients, marketing, paid leave, free time for vacation, reception services, an assistant, or any of the other benefits that you may have become accustomed to as an employee.

You are a business owner in every sense of the word. I cannot stress that enough.

First, you may need to obtain a business license. Depending on your state laws you may be required to register either as a DBA, a sole proprietor, or LLC. In some situations, you may benefit from filing as a corporation, but that’s unusual for most booth renters. To learn which business structure is right for you, I recommend reading this article.

When it comes to taxes, you will pay quarterly estimated tax payments. This process is more straightforward than it sounds.

Estimated tax payments are due as follows:

• January 1 to March 31 – April 15
• April 1 to May 31 – June 15
• June 1 to August 31 – September 15
• September 1 to December 31 – January 15 of the following year

There are a few ways you can calculate the amount of each payment:

• Use IRS Form 1040-ES
• Divide the total taxes due for the prior year by four.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t see into the future (and despite loving tax law, I hate tax forms), so I take my prior year’s tax responsibility and divide it into quarterly payments. If you’re married filing jointly and really want to ensure that you won’t be stuck with a big tax bill, have your spouse increase their withholding. I also recommend saving aggressively. That way, no matter how unexpectedly well your business performed, you will always have enough money on hand to cover additional taxes.

As long as you pay at least 100% of what you owed the prior year in taxes (or 90% of what you will owe the current year), you will not be assigned any fines or penalties for underpayment.

You may send estimated tax payments with Form 1040-ES by mail, or you can pay online, by phone or from your mobile device using the IRS2Go app. (Corporations must deposit the payment using the EFTPS—the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.) 

At the end of the year, before January 31st, you will supply the salon owner you rent space from with a 1099 form if you have paid that salon owner in excess of $600 that year. This will allow the landlord to claim your rent as business income and you to deduct that rent as a business expense.

I highly recommend that every professional have a professional liability insurance policy, even if you aren’t required to. Professional liability insurance policies are incredibly affordable and provide a substantial deal of protection against lawsuits. You can get them from a variety of insurance companies or through one of the industry’s professional associations (usually at a discount).

How can I be successful as a new booth renter?

First, start treating your business like a business. You don’t need to put together a business plan, but it helps. Don’t be intimidated. Your business plan doesn’t need to conform to any special format.

Keep personal and professional separated in your dealings with your peers (who are now your competitors), your clients (who are now your customers), and your landlord (who is no longer your boss).

You can find more information in the following posts:

• Self-Employment: Pros and Cons
• Too Small to Fail
• Microsalon Math
• Know Your Rights
• What does booth rental cost?

Do not pull your prices out of thin air or you will doom your business to failure before it even starts.

You could follow the steps outlined in this post, but if you want a system that does all the math for you (and includes a wealth of information and tools for self-employed beauty professionals), I recommend checking out The Microsalon Owner’s Complete Business Toolkit.

The Microsalon Owner’s Success Toolkit includes:

• The Microsalon Owner’s Planning Checklist
• The Microsalon Owner’s Pricing Spreadsheet, a 7-page spreadsheet that calculates your service prices for you!
• The Microsalon Owner’s Pricing Guide, a 28-page instruction manual that will walk you through the process of using the Service Pricing Spreadsheet,
• The Microsalon Owner’s Business Plan Design Guide, a 2-page overview detailing the anatomy of a business plan. Simply answer the questions in each section and you’ll have a solid framework!
• The Microsalon Owner’s Lease Component Checklist, a 3-page document that simplifies lease terms to keep you from signing an incomplete (or unfair) rental agreement,
• The Microsalon Assessment Tool: Be Worth What You Charge, an 11-page checklist and salon evaluation resource
• The Microsalon Owner’s Website Design Guide, a practical 2-page reference detailing each page your site should have and what each page should contain.
• Employer Obligations for Microsalon Owners, a 9-page document that covers the basics of employment law for solo entrepreneurs. (If you plan to hire an assistant or receptionist at some point, you’re going to need to read this document.)
• Suggested Resources for Microsalon Owners, an 8-page reference guide where you can find every awesome thing I recommend—domain registrars, hosting companies, web designers and DIY website builders, mailing list management services, free fonts, free stock photos, salon management tools, accounting software for solo entrepreneurs, and so much more. Learn what each resource does, why they’re great, and why I recommend them.

Salon professionals are testing positive for COVID-19 and they will continue to for as long as COVID-19 exists.

Hence the title of this article. I’m using “when” (not “if”) intentionally. No matter what precautions you take in your salon, one of your employees will likely have a positive test at some point in the future. Consider it an inevitability and plan for it today.

What should my COVID-19 response plan include?

1.) A notification script.

How, exactly, will you notify customers? Which words will you use? What guidance will you give them? Which questions can you preemptively answer? What resources will you refer them to?

This message should be crafted long before you need it. The content of this message will be highly dependent on the individual salon, so by way of an example, I’ll share the one I’ve drafted for mine.

“We have just learned that our employee tested positive for COVID-19 and that you may have closely interacted with this employee in some capacity over the last two weeks. As we have been far exceeding both the state and federal pandemic guidelines, it is highly unlikely anyone else was exposed. However, in an abundance of caution, we are choosing to get tested and self-isolate, and are encouraging our clients to please do the same. We will keep you updated through the salon’s website and via email. If you have any questions, please contact Tina Alberino at mysecret@emailaddress.com.”

In our script, which is written to be read aloud, posted, and texted, our COVID-19 precautions are linked in the content, as is our site’s COVID-19 blog category URL (which displays any and all posts relating to COVID-19) and my actual company email address.

2.) A procedure for notifying the clients.

Does your salon software allow you to filter clients by the date they last visited? If so, can you also easily compose emails and text messages exclusively for them? How?

Figure it out today. Write down the steps if you don’t think you’ll remember them. Contact tracers with the CDC and/or your local health department may require that data, so learn how to easily export it now.

Once you’ve figured out how to quickly send communications to that subset of clients, create a plan for contacting them via phone as well. If your salon has been servicing a large number of clients (more than can be contacted by phone by a single person in a single day), I would recommend dividing the list among your employees to ensure they’re all notified as expeditiously as possible. If you suspect this measure will be necessary, inform and train the employees on how to conduct those calls in advance.

3.) A public statement.

As soon as the news breaks that one of your professionals tested positive, the public will look to you for an explanation. They’ll want to know what you did to protect your customers and what you’re doing moving forward. Will you stay open? Will you close the salon until all of the employees are tested?

Answer all of the questions reporters and the public are likely to ask and put those answers in writing.

Should I reveal the identity of an employee infected with COVID-19?

Absolutely not. First, you’re unlikely to know which employee tested positive to begin with unless they tell you. Should an employee test positive, you will be contacted by a health department official who will notify you. They are not permitted to share that employee’s name.

Employees have the right to a reasonably safe work environment and the right to privacy. (As a matter of fact, those rights are entrenched several in federal laws such as HIPAA, the FMLA, and the ADA.) So, how do we reconcile those things with our responsibility to our professionals and clients?

We comply with the laws and protect the employee’s identity to the very best of our abilities while providing the appropriate notice to those who may have come into contact with that employee.

The EEOC has clarified when employers can ask about travel or symptoms during the pandemic. I recommend reading the entirety of that page, but I’ve included the most relevant parts here.

Directly from the EEOC:

Generally, a disability-related inquiry or medical examination of an employee is job-related and consistent with business necessity when an employer has a reasonable belief, based on objective evidence, that:

• An employee’s ability to perform essential job functions will be impaired by a medical condition; or
• An employee will pose a direct threat due to a medical condition.

This reasonable belief “must be based on objective evidence obtained, or reasonably available to the employer, prior to making a disability-related inquiry or requiring a medical examination.

All information about applicants or employees obtained through disability-related inquiries or medical examinations must be kept confidential.

And further down, they state in all bold:

Based on guidance of the CDC and public health authorities as of March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic meets the direct threat standard.

Per the EEOC’s guidance, during a pandemic, employers may:

• send employees home if they display COVID-like symptoms
• ask sick employees if they are experiencing COVID-like symptoms
• ask why individuals were absent from work why they were absent if the employer suspects it was for a medical reason
• measure employee body temperature
• follow the CDC and state/local public health guidelines regarding information needed to permit an employee’s return to the workplace after traveling, including COVID-19 test results
• require employees to wear PPE and adopt infection control practices designed to reduce transmission of pandemic infection

Employers may be held legally responsible for purposeful concealment of a workplace danger.

Employers may not disclose the identity of an employee diagnosed with or presumed to have COVID-19, and are required by law to maintain the privacy of any employee-related health information they gather—including their COVID-19 status.

What should I do if an employee tests positive for COVID-19?

Regardless of the precautions you’ve taken, you will be in for an intensely stressful time. Even if the employee was unlikely to expose anyone else, you’re going to be in charge of damage control moving forward. Here are my recommendations for what to do after you’ve notified all of your employees, even if your local laws do not require business owners to alert customers.

1.) Contact the health department and/or OSHA (if they didn’t contact you first).

OSHA recently issued guidance on employers’ obligation to record COVID-19 cases in the workplace. (Read that article ASAP.)

Once you have notified the local health department, follow their guidelines and recommendations moving forward in addition to those recommended here. Cooperate with any contact tracing efforts they may require you to participate in.

2.) If your team has not been wearing masks or face coverings 100% of the time, send them all home immediately.

I’m not going to ask why you chose not to wear masks or face coverings. I’m not going to let you see the fatal levels of side-eye I’m shooting your way. All I’m going to say is this: we don’t have the luxury of isolation from the general public during our routine work day the way most office workers do.

Masks are non-negotiable for us.

Masks should always have been non-negotiable for us. Every working professional should have been taking every effort possible to protect their lungs—not just from the virus, but from all of the other contagions, airborne debris, and chemical fumes we’re routinely exposed to.

If—for whatever reason—you made the choice not to enforce rules requiring face coverings in your salon, you have made your situation far more complicated and prolonged than it would have otherwise been. I’m not just talking about how your cute little act of defiance or complacency potentially impacted your community (and most certainly impacted the public’s opinion of our industry), I’m talking about the immense damage you’ll have done to your personal brand and the revenue losses you’re likely to endure as a result.

If you have suddenly made the choice to start behaving more responsibly moving forward, those losses start now. Cancel the rest of the salon’s appointments. Everyone in the building should immediately be sent home until they meet the standards for returning to work. You’re effectively closed for business until the salon has been fully disinfected and you have enough confirmed negative employees to reopen.

Because everyone in your salon has been in close-contact and breathing all over each other for at least ten or more minutes each service, it’s pretty likely that your first positive employee won’t be the only one…and that you will have a number of clients who test positive also. Pray they (and the public at large) don’t decimate your salon’s online reputation.

But what if we have been complying with employee and customer mask requirements?

Keep on keeping on. Your lone infected employee could have gotten COVID-19 anywhere, but since they’ve been wearing a mask in your facility, it’s unlikely they infected anyone while under your roof. Unless your health department (or other local authority) requires you to close, stay open and proceed with the rest of the steps.

Also, take a few minutes of your day to read the overwhelming positive support for The Clip Joint, a Missouri salon where an employee recently tested positive. They took every possible precaution to protect their customers and their appreciation shows. While The Clip Joint took five full days to notify customers, a length of time I consider irresponsible and inexcusable, it’s noteworthy to mention they were not actually legally required to notify anyone.

We should also be rejoicing that the first 40+ clients exposed by the Great Clips employees in Missouri have all tested negative—so far—likely thanks to their adherence to social distancing protocols, including mask requirements. These early results are extremely promising for those in our industry who are enforcing mask requirements.

2.) Get your team to make the client notification calls immediately while you prepare text and email notifications.

If you have more numbers to call than one person can handle, every employee with a phone should be using it to call each client that visited the facility over the last two weeks. Have them read the script and instruct the clients to direct any questions they have to you.

If you have the software infrastructure to support sending electronic notifications to every client the salon serviced in the last two weeks, get those messages configured and sent out now. This shouldn’t take longer than a few minutes, since you wrote your notice in advance.

3.) Publish your statement to your socials and refer all media requests to that statement.

It can be easy to unintentionally say something damaging when confronted by the media. Throughout the years, I’ve seen salon owners admit to misclassification and wage theft on national television and in trade magazines. Throughout the pandemic, I’ve seen salon owners and professionals alike show how painfully ignorant they are about sanitation, disinfection, and sterilization—even while using our “superior knowledge of bacteriology” to make a case for a swift reopening.

Don’t risk a misstep. Instead, refer any press to your official statement.

4.) Disinfect the facility.

Follow the CDC’s Cleaning and Disinfection for Community Facilities with Suspected/Confirmed COVID-19. (Essentially, it boils down to “SCRUB ALL OF THE THINGS.”)

Here is where we have to make a distinction between what you’re required to do and what you’d be wise to do despite not being required to do it.

Whether or not the following are required by your local authorities, they are objectively responsible things to do. Therefore, I personally feel they should be done and have made these steps part of my own plan.

5.) Notify all vendors and delivery companies whose employees may have had contact with the employee.

If there is a possibility that the employee had close contact with a non-client while working in the salon, call those companies and inform them. (“Close contact” means being within six feet of the sick employee for a prolonged period, 10-30 minutes.)

6.) Keep COVID-19 positive employees home beyond the minimum period of time recommended.

Employers can utilize one or both of the following strategies recommended by the CDC when it comes to determining when an employee should return to work. These strategies are being referred to as “symptom-based” and “test-based.”

Symptomatic employees may discontinue isolation under the following conditions:

• At least 3 days (72 hours) have passed since recovery defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement in respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath); and,
• At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

(Text emphasis comes directly from the CDC.)

If you have access to testing and sufficient laboratory capacity, the test-based strategy looks like this:

Persons who have COVID-19 who have symptoms and were directed to care for themselves at home may discontinue isolation under the following conditions:

• Resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and
• Improvement in respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath), and
• Negative results of an FDA Emergency Use Authorized COVID-19 molecular assay for detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from at least two consecutive respiratory specimens collected ≥24 hours apart (total of two negative specimens).

(Again, text emphasis comes directly from the CDC.)

The CDC also notes that there have been reports of prolonged detection of RNA without direct correlation to viral culture (translated: detecting viral RNA via PCR does not necessarily mean that infectious virus is present), but I’d recommend against being influenced by this information and urge you instead to listen to the lawyers. Many public health announcements are advisory in nature. During the pandemic, it is unwise to act on unconfirmed data unless that data encourages taking further precautions.

It is better to be safe than sorry.

When can my employees come back to work?

Your local authorities will likely provide further guidance, but my recommendation—as always—is to listen to the lawyers and exercise the utmost caution.

Legal experts and human resource blogs are recommending a combined approach, advising that employers instruct infected employees to remain home for the longer of the period of time recommended by their health care provider or the applicable health department, or until:

• at least 72 hours have passed since the resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications AND improvement of respiratory symptoms, AND
• at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared, AND
• two consecutive negative tests collected ≥24 hours apart. (Assuming you have access to testing.)

Listen to your gut here. If it’s telling you not to allow employees back into the salon until they have two consecutive negative tests, you’d be wise to follow that instinct. Also keep in mind that immunocompromised employees may remain contagious for longer than those who are not.

If you want to stay open, stay cautious.

Here are the CDC’s Discontinuation of Isolations for Persons with COVID-19 Not in Healthcare Settings. Read them.

At a bare minimum, I would recommend requiring medical clearance confirmation directly from a physician or health clinic. This may come in the form of an official email or document—not merely an employee’s insistence that they’ve been cleared to return to work. For as long as people are capable of masking their symptoms, it falls to employers to conduct due diligence.

I recognize what an incredibly stressful time this is for all of us who interact closely with the public and am grateful for all of the diligent work professionals and salon owners are doing to keep their communities safe during the pandemic. If nobody has told you recently—your efforts are appreciated.

A handful of these owners, however, were proud of their commitment to abusing their workers, acting as if surviving the abuse were a cultural rite of passage and a necessary part of every professional’s growth.

“We don’t believe in employment, so everyone here is independent.” my client said.

“Your current arrangement puts you in a very vulnerable position from a legal perspective because you’re exerting managerial controls you have no right to exercise,” I replied. “You’re also making less money than you would be making if everyone were properly classified and legally compensated. So, why don’t you ‘believe’ in employment?”

“Because that’s just not how this industry works. We just don’t believe in it. Everyone here is independent and they are in charge of them. If they want to be successful in this business, they need to work for it, promote themselves, and climb up the way we all did. That’s how we drop the dead weight from the industry.”

The professionals in this salon weren’t independent by any definition of the term, legal or literal. They were very much misclassified employees and the salon owner (who wanted to have and eat all of the cake) was willingly and knowingly committing tax evasion, wage theft, and fraud—and bragging about it like they were virtues or deliberate professional development strategies instead of extremely serious and highly punishable state and federal crimes.

“We have to pay commission-only! Why would they work if they’re getting paid to just sit there?”

Like it or not, salon owners, you’re required by federal law to ensure prevailing wage compliance. “Commission-only” is not and has never been legal and calling an employee an “independent contractor” doesn’t make them one.

I’m accustomed to this entire process, having had this exact conversation hundreds (if not thousands) of times with salon owners over the years. First, they boast about how industry abuses are part of our “culture.” They lament the changes they feel “forced” to make. Then, they try to defend their indefensible actions and behaviors by arguing that they somehow make our industry and the workers in it “stronger.”

“My employees pay for their own product,” another client explained to me. “That’s their responsibility and a cost of doing business in this industry. If they can’t afford it, they need to find a new career. Why should I be paying for their product?”

“Because they aren’t business owners and never asked to be burdened with the responsibilities of a business owner,” I said. “You’re the one who sets the prices, creates the schedule, and handles the appointment book. How can they offset their costs and be profitable when you’re the one who determines what their services are worth, when they can work, and how many clients they get each day? That’s not independence. That’s you pushing your costs of doing business onto misclassified employees. If they fail, it’s because you didn’t take responsibility for managing them properly, not because they aren’t cut out for this industry.”

Over the last two months, I’ve been reminded of these salon owners and how proud they were of not taking ownership of their businesses. I can’t help but think about how they would present their laziness, irresponsibility, and lack of consideration for the welfare of their employees as a series of clever management tactics. Even now, I am astounded by the mental gymnastics these owners do to attempt to justify themselves.

Every problem in the salon is the fault of the professionals:

If the salon isn’t making enough money, it’s not because the owner hired more people than the business could justify hiring and didn’t bother to schedule them strategically, it’s because the employees are not marketing themselves well enough.

If the employees quit because they couldn’t afford to work for free, it’s not because the owner refused to pay the prevailing wage in accordance with state and federal law, it’s because the employees “couldn’t compete in the industry.”

If the owner ends up in hot water with the IRS for misclassifying their employees as independent contractors, it’s not because the owner was exploiting them and willfully breaking the law, it’s because the employees had a “personal vendetta” against the salon owner.

There’s no attempt from willful violators to take responsibility for setting their workers and their salons up to fail. There’s no remorse. Instead, there’s a dismissive wave of the hand, an irritated eye roll, and muttered resentments.

When talk turns to actual management strategy—with regards to talent acquisition and retention, for instance—the callousness really becomes apparent.

“Employment benefits for hairdressers? Sick pay?! Nobody does that! Why should we?”

For years, I’ve wondered what makes people in our industry this way. What gives these owners such a strong sense of entitlement? What makes them think the best way to develop a professional is to baptize them by fire? Why do they believe professionals in our industry aren’t worthy of guaranteed wages, paid time off, or health insurance? Why can’t they see that this lack of security is directly tied to our high attrition rates? How do they not realize this asinine attachment to an “eat or be eaten”/“survival of the fittest” mentality undermines the legitimacy of our profession and damages their own salons?

Why are they bragging about being a terrible place to work as if that’s a point of pride akin to a company value rather than a profound embarrassment and a scathing indictment of their irresponsibility?

COVID-19 killed the fabricated nobility of this sink-or-swim narrative dead in the two weeks it took for exploited professionals all over the United States to realize what their self-employed status actually meant.

Non-compliance is and always has been the easy way out for salon owners who wanted to own a salon but didn’t want to do the actual work required to become a good salon owner. I’ve long suspected these abuses were never truly the result of an ideological choice but have been presented as one to convince professionals of their validity. This lazy, shitty approach to business ownership won’t survive the post-Covid economy, and I’m glad for it.

A good deal of non-compliant salon owners are in for a rude awakening when the stay-at-home orders are lifted. The pandemic has made evident the serious flaws in our industry’s approach to employment. It’s not just the professionals non-compliant owners will have to answer to, but their clients and the public at large, as these issues have been gaining more attention over the last five years.

“Even documented workers will have a challenging time accessing the benefits they may be entitled to due to the pervasive, illegal payment practices that pervade the nail salon industry, including underreporting earnings, or failing to keep records altogether.”
-Allure

There problems aren’t new, they just impacted individuals previously, and therefore often went without much public notice. COVID-19 put all exploited workers in the same boat pretty much immediately, and that sudden education on an industry-wide scale changes everything. As an advocate for beauty workers, I can’t help but appreciate the poetic justice and rejoice in the sudden and (hopefully) final end to this idiocy.

Our industry has used “girl power” to manipulate people for as long as I can remember, promoting our largely female-founded companies as mechanisms driving female empowerment and allowing beautiful, well-marketed salons to grace the pages of popular fashion and lifestyle magazines, all while conveniently ignoring the fact that many of these same female founders owe their success entirely to the (mostly female) employees who quietly accept their exploitative practices.

The hypocrisy has annoyed me for decades…but those were the Before Times. Things are certainly different now, so the days of brainwashing workers to confuse acceptance of abuse with “empowerment” are finally over, once and for all.

[Related Post] “We should not be praising exploitative salon owners for providing work opportunities for immigrants any more than we would praise pimps for providing protection and work opportunities to women.”

Education is the true mechanism for empowerment. Educated professionals confront exploitative salon owners. Their knowledge gives them the strength to demand better. It motivates them to share what they know with others. For the last ten years that I’ve been working to provide accessible information to the industry and helping non-compliant salon owners become legitimate employers, the transition has been slow and painful, as willfully non-compliant salons were often only forced to change when an employee or group of newly-informed employees filed complaints with the WHD and IRS.

That time is suddenly now. Like the misclassified employees who had to contend with the possibility of being ineligible for unemployment during a pandemic, the salon owners who exploited those employees (intentionally or accidentally) are finding themselves in the same boat, too.

We’re likely to see a massive shift in how salon owners approach business management.

What form that shift ultimately takes—whether we see more salons revert to rental or become overwhelmingly employment-based—remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: non-compliant salon owners with a strong desire to “stick it to The Man” by way of screwing their employees over will have to figure something else out, because nobody in our industry can unlearn what they now know. They’re wiser and harder now, and certainly won’t tolerate “customary” abuses any longer, no matter what ridiculous narrative that abuse is dressed up in.