Nail Salon Owners Are Going on Strike to Protest Harsh Government Regulations

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When the New York state government took swift actions to regulate the nail salon industry following an exposé that detailed gross underpayment and dangerous working conditions, many lauded the efforts—but did they move too fast? Gothamist reports that several nail salons across the five boroughs have voluntarily closed their doors to protest measures like fines and sanctions being levied against them.

To be clear, this isn't because owners are necessarily looking to flout the law or take advantage of their employees; several indicated that the government hasn't provided them any guidance into how to comply with the new rules, and thus feel bamboozled when inspectors show up and cite violations.

The city site writes that several of these salons have signs posted on their closed gates explaining their frustration, and often point to this website where anonymous owners have banded together to air their frustrations in blog posts. The most recent one reads in part:

Today, hundreds of nail salons are being inspected each day and all of them are being fined for one thing or another. With stiff fines ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, many nail salons are on the brink of bankruptcy and thousands of workers could lose their job.

Have you seen a nail salon in your area close down in protest of the new rules? Let us know about it in the comments section below.