A migrant nail salon worker is a nail technician, manicurist, esthetician, or masseuse working in a migrant, often Asian–owned nail salon in America. These workers are mostly women, including immigrants from Vietnam, South Korea, China, South America and Central America. The majority of women who work in these nail salons are paid low wages, exposed to dangerous chemicals because of weak regulations, and develop complicated relationships with their clients, largely due to language differences and contradicting views on what constitutes quality customer service. Most Korean-owned nail salons are located in New York, and in reaction to a 2015 New York Times exposé documenting corruption within the state's nail salon industry, Gov. Andrew Cuomo created the New York State Nail Industry Enforcement Task Force, and signed into law stricter salon regulations and required the posting of wage bonds.
Migrant nail salon workforce There are several factors influencing why so many immigrant women work in Korean nail salons. It often has to do with the fact that they do not have to be proficient in English in order to do their jobs, they get paid in cash, the hours are somewhat flexible, and if they are undocumented they will struggle to get a job elsewhere. They are often introduced to this work through family, friends, church members, or neighbors, though some do find work through ad sections in Korean newspapers.
Another reason nail salon workers join the industry is that they do not always have to become licensed. Depending on the state it can take hundreds of hours to get a license. Sometimes a worker has to have graduated high school, or have a certain level of English proficiency. Often the beauty schools only teach in English, making it difficult for immigrants to obtain their license.Sharma, Preeti, Saba Waheed, Vina Nguyen, Lina Stepick, Reyna Orellana, Liana Katz, Sabrina Kim, and Katrina Lapira. “Nail Files: A Study of Nail Salon Workers and Industry in the United States.” UCLA Labor Center. California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative. November 2018. https://www.labor.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/NAILFILES_FINAL.pdf Despite this being illegal, many employers hire unlicensed workers anyway.
In some cases employers make new employees pay to get the job and to be taught how to do manicures.
Ethnic hierarchies Koreans own around seventy to eighty percent of the nail salons in New York, and four percent of foreign born salon workers come from South Korea. There is a socio-ethnic hierarchy in the state's nail salon industry. Korean workers are often paid more and can find jobs in more expensive areas. Some Korean salon owners have even been vocal about their low opinions of non-Korean workers, and some Latina and Chinese workers have talked about facing discrimination and ostracization in Korean-owned salons. In 2012 a group of Chinese workers sued the Korean nail salon chain Babi Nail Salons for paying them $3.00 or less a day, suffering abusive behavior from the owner, not being allowed to take breaks, and dealing with racist comments. They won the lawsuit and were supposed to collect over $400,000 in damages, but the owner has only paid them a small portion, citing that he does not have the money.
The president of the Korean Nail Salon Association of New York denied any widespread racial or ethnic prejudice from Korean business owners toward non-Korean workers.
Language, employers, and customer service For Korean immigrant women entering the nail salon industry, it can be very helpful for them to have an employer who also speaks their language. Sometimes it is the only way they can get work. A worker's low English proficiency can be taken advantage of by employers, because they know that their workers are unlikely to find another job. Mistreatment, low wages, and long hours are often a result of this imbalance.
Language is also a source of tension and contention between workers and customers in Korean nail salons. It is common for manicurists to talk to each other in Korean when they are working, often to the irritation and discomfort of customers. Customers can feel that they are being slighted and excluded by workers when they do not speak English, or that it is improper to speak Korean when they are around Americans. Clients also tend to feel suspicious that they are being talked about or made fun of by workers. Customers often think of workers speaking Korean over English as a choice and a show of obstinance instead of something necessary for them to easily communicate.
Sometimes workers purposely do not learn English or let on that they can understand and speak it, despite the fact that they usually get better tips if they do. The reasons for this vary. Some workers find small talk burdensome, as they want to finish their jobs and move on to the next customer; carrying a conversation is hard when they struggle with English, and they are often already exhausted by their work. Others feel a sense of community when they speak Korean with each other. There are manicurists who will not learn English because they do not feel the need to change or cater to the desires of customers, and shifting the power dynamic between themselves and the client is a way to regain a sense of agency. Yet there are customers who come to nail salons not just to get their nails done, but to be pampered. They want an experience, and a part of that experience is feeling like workers care about their comfort, are interested in their lives, and are happy to do their nails. That is also why Korean salons started offering massages; they make the client feel special and it gives them an edge when competing with Chinese salons. Depending on the class level of the client, if they do not feel cared for it is usually reflected in the tip, whether or not they return to the shop, or in their preference for certain workers who do fulfill that emotional connection. If they are primarily going to Korean salons because they want to get their nails done for cheap, chances are they will continue to patronize the business.
Workplace inequalities
Income and wage theft It is common for nail salon workers to be misclassified by their employers as independent contractors, instead of employees. When a worker is classified as an independent contractor they are not covered by labor laws relating to overtime, breaks, minimum wage requirements, sick time, paid vacation, Social Security, harassment, or discrimination.
There are varying reports on how much money workers make in Korean nail salons, though it is typically around $30.00 to $80.00 a day; they often work for ten hours a day, and almost every day of the week. Sometimes newcomers only earn $10.00 depending on their employer. When asked about wage theft and underpayment by Sarah Nir, theTimes reporter who wrote the industry-changing exposé, Sangho Lee, the then president of the Korean American Nail Salon Association, refused to comment. He believed that to answer any questions would negatively impact Korean Nail Salons, because of how many owners did not pay minimum wage. Korean nail salon owners subsequently denied that they were stealing money from their employees.
In June 2018 nail salon workers came together to speak at a New York State government hearing to advocate for the elimination of tipped wages, or sub-minimum wage. Workers argued that having their wages determined by the fact that they may get tips causes instability of income and a dependency on the generosity of customers. The prevalence of Korean nail salons in New York came partially from the fact that these salons offered cheaper options for manicures and pedicures, which opened up the industry to customers across the economic spectrum. Yet, the cheaper the prices posted by the salon, the less tip money the workers will receive. The director of the Korean Nail Salon Association, Donald Yu commented on this issue by saying that most workers make more money with the tipped wages than they would without them. An increase in wages, he argued, would cause an increase in prices, which would make customers not want to leave tips at all. He also mentioned that owners are struggling to survive with increasing prices in rent, tools, and with the pressure of competition, salons may have to close which will result in job loss for workers.
Additionally, according to the 2018 UCLA Labor Center Study, an estimated 78% of nail salon employees are considered low-wage workers. The industry sector has immigrants or refugee women. A lot of nail salons are "mom-and-pop" structures with few employees.
Another way that immigrant women in nail salons bring in money is by participate in rotating credit associations, or kyes. RCAs are specific to the nail salon workers who are Korean. These workers create and maintain kyes for a number of reasons, but the biggest incentive to join is the sense of community, support, and trust established amongst co-ethnic women workers. Immigrating to the U.S. can be incredibly difficult, and being a part of a RCA helps these nail salon workers feel connected to home and more grounded in the U.S. There is, of course financial incentive to joining. The money members receive go into a number of things: college tuition for their children, capital for their own nail salons, rent, vacations, or savings in case of emergencies. It is also a way for undocumented immigrants to use a more informal system of saving, as creating financial accounts through official institutions is difficult.
Exposure to harmful chemicals Nail salon workers are frequently subjected to harmful chemicals found in nail products, including dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene, and formaldehyde—commonly referred to as the "toxic trio." Dibutyl phthalate can have an adverse effect on reproduction and development, formaldehyde is a carcinogen, and toluene can negatively affect both the nervous and reproductive systems. Although there is inconclusive research on the effects of long term exposure to these toxicants and irritants, many workers in nail salons report having similar health complications, such as asthma, fungal infections, nose bleeds, burning eyes, skin discoloration, coughing, nausea, musculoskeletal pain, and cancer. Miscarriages are a common occurrence among these workers, as well as stillbirths and developmental delays in children carried to term. These prevalent reproductive health concerns highlight the shortcomings of the overall health infrastructure in the United States nail salon industry.
Health complications Historically, the nail salon industry has face criticism for hazardous workplace chemical exposures and insufficient health and safety regulations. Long-term exposure to harmful chemicals, commonly known as the "toxic trio," toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate, has sparked concerns about increased health risks, including reproductive and cognitive harm, allergies, cancer, and adverse reactions in the respiratory, skin, and nervous systems. Advocacy groups like the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative (CHNSC) have pushed for stronger regulations surrounding worker health and safety, urging for better ventilation, increased routine inspections, and protective equipment.