Nationwide, the number of salons has doubled over the past decade, according to Nails Magazine, an industry publication, lifting the number of salons to 3,800 in New York State and to 2,600 in New Jersey.
Chinese immigrants have poured into the industry in New York and New Jersey, which has long been dominated by Korean immigrant. More than 80 percent of the salons in the New York-New Jersey area are Korean-owned. In California, by contrast, an estimated three-fourths of salon owners and workers are Vietnamese.
Manicure workers work for low wages and long hours. The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund has sued two salons near Lincoln Center, accusing them of violating overtime laws. Several city and state lawmakers have joined with the Chinese Staff and Workers' Association to create an alliance that will push for stricter air quality regulations at salons and screen workers for health problems.
Another problem is that manicure job requires using harmful chemicals that often cause allergic reactions, breathing problems and rashes. In one extreme case, a manicurist in New Jersey was set on fire after chemical fumes in her shop burst into flames.
e federal Environmental Protection Agency has distributed more than $200,000 in grants and published safety brochures seeking to minimize chemical exposures that could harm salon workers and customers. And the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the salon in Hillsdale, N.J., where a manicurist caught fire and was critically injured on May 30.
In a 2004 survey of salon employees in New York City, 37 percent said they often or sometimes had skin problems, 37 percent said they suffered from eye irritation, 57 percent from allergies, 66 percent from neck or back discomfort and 18 percent from asthma. For the survey, 100 workers were interviewed by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health and a Korean workers' group, Empowering the Korean American Community. (Source: Steven Greenhouse, New York Times, Aug. 19, 2007).