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When California Gov. Newsom laid out his four phase plan to reopen the state, hair and nail salons were listed among phase three to open, because they are considered high-risk businesses.
Given the fact California nail salons were the first culprits in the community spread of the coronavirus, it seems like a public health precaution to keep them closed until the pandemic is under control. But many beauty businesses are suffering and will be unable to bounce back from this unprecedented economic state. Its a double sided conundrum that has resulted in the Center for American Liberty filing suit on behalf of the Professional Beauty Federation of California, who represents 500,000 beauty professionals, who feel the state’s order violates their constitutional rights by deeming them “non-essential” and other businesses “essential.”
“Governor Newsom is denying over half a million licensed, highly trained professionals their human right to earn a living, and is using the strong arm of the law to punish and grind them into submission,” reads a quote from Harmeet K. Dhillon, CEO of the Center for American Liberty, on the LibertyCenter.org website.
The website also notes, “Many of California’s beauty professionals are small business owners that employ 1099 contractors and aren’t eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program.”
“We tried the diplomatic and political avenues to convince them to reconsider that timeline,” said Fred Jones, the organizations he organization’s legal counsel. “It resulted in letter going out to all our half-million licensees on May 1, threatening to shut their salons down if they tried to open in defiance.”
Obviously safety is a first concern for the governor, but many beauty professionals fear losing their business forever if the government doesn’t offer relief or allow them to open their doors.
“He has to provide safety, but he also has to make sure that the businesses will not go broke,” said Paul Mantea, owner of Paul Mitchell The School Sherman Oaks, told KTLA.
With many states in control of their own openings, there are fears a surge in infections will rise. More than 295,000 people have died worldwide from COVID-19. It’s going to take a unified front to reopen the country.
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500,000 California Beauty Professionals Ban Together To Sue Over Coronavirus Closures was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
