October 5, 2006

Governor signs urgent pedicure safety bill

New law can close salons in violation of health code

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

Unsanitary nail salons may find their doors closed permanently under a new health safety law signed by Governor Schwarzenegger.

This bill was passed after numerous bacterial outbreaks, scarring and related deaths were linked with nail salons. Complications from pedicure-related infections are suspected to have led to the death of Jessica Mears, a 43-year-old woman from Mountain View, as well as that of a woman from Forth Worth, Texas who died as a result of a staph infection caused by bacteria from a nail salon.

In 1999 and 2000, bacteria traced to a salon in Watsonville, Calif. caused mycobacterial infections in more than 100 women. In November 2004, the Almaden Times Weekly uncovered an outbreak that occurred when women visited various salons in San Jose, ultimately involving 27 salons and 120 infected women.

With about 290,000 manicurists and cosmetologists in the state of California, this problem has been a major issue, especially in the South Bay, due to the high concentration of nail salons in the area.

“Fortunately, members of both sides of the aisle, the Legislature and the governor, came together to swiftly enact this urgency measure,” says bill author Assembly-member Leland Yee.  “This bill is a good first step in cleaning up unsanitary salons and protecting consumers.”

As customers can contract bacterial infections if manicurists don't properly sanitize their tools between clients, Yee says salons that don't use proper disinfectants are irresponsible and risk customers' health.

Due to the inherent danger of the situation and its urgency clause, this bill went into effect immediately, unlike other bills that won’t become law until Jan. 1. Although a stronger bill was introduced by Yee last year that included a provision to notify customers when a salon was found to be in violation, it was vetoed by the governor who believed it would be a burden on innocent businesses.

“This is where we would have a disagreement with the governor,” says Assemblymember Leland Yee’s press secretary, Adam J. Keigwin. “We don’t think there are any innocent businesses here. Businesses that are cleaning their equipment properly would not have been affected. The businesses not cleaning their equipment properly…are putting the health and safety of their consumers at risk.”

However, this bill does allow a salon found in violation of health codes to be shut down immediately or placed on probation for one year. The licensee is also required to undertake remedial training in health and safety laws and is subject to re-inspection at the cost of the establishment’s owner, as well as new citation fines. “Those components make this bill better than last year’s bill,” says Keigwin, “but the one piece we still wish we had in it is that notification to consumers. We’ll see if we could push that one next year.”

“Unsanitary nail salons pose a serious health threat to consumers,” said Schwarzenegger.  “I want to thank Assemblymember Yee for his hard work on this important legislation that will protect consumers from suffering disease and infection should they visit unsanitary nail salons.”

This bill grants additional authority to the state Board of Barbering and Cosmetology allowing them to shut down violating salons immediately, as well as increasing the fines for violations and providing additional cleaning requirements. Specifically, AB 409 permits the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology “to immediately suspend any license without advance hearing, if the action is necessary to protect the public health and safety.”

“AB 409 will not only make sure those businesses pay a price for putting the public at risk,” says Yee, “but that they receive the necessary remedial health and safety training and pay the cost of re-inspection, not the taxpayer.”

Although he vetoed Yee’s bill last year, the Governor’s veto message directed the Department of Consumer Affairs to establish a working group on footspa safety. Among their suggestions, the working group recommended a new set of footspa cleaning requirements and increased fines up to $500 per footspa chair for a maximum of $5,000 per inspection.

To prevent the transmission of yeast or bacterial infections, when visiting a nail salon, customers should be aware of the following concerns:

Manicures and pedicures should not be painful or leave customer’s cuticles bloody and swollen.

Manicurists and pedicurists should wash their hands with soap and water before touching a client's hands or feet.

Technicians should wash their instruments in hot soapy water and apply disinfectant to their instruments after every use.

Soiled and clean instruments must be stored separately.

Instruments and supplies, which cannot be disinfected, such as some emery boards, orange sticks and sponges placed between toes should be thrown away immediately after use.

Salons should have adequate ventilation.

Drill bits should be cleaned after each client.

Foot spas or footbath units should be cleaned and disinfected thoroughly after each use.

Technicians’ work areas should be free of debris and dirt.

A salon’s license should be posted in plain view in the reception area and the nail technician’s license should be posted at his or her workstation. Both licenses should be current.

Keigwin has requested to be notified immediately by the Department of Consumer Affairs if any salon is cited under the new law. “I’m sure it will just be a matter of time,” he says.