healthy nail care
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New Healthy Nail Salon Bill to Transform Nail Salon Industry throughout California
AB 2125, signed by Governor Jerry Brown, is a key step to improving the health of nail salon workers
OAKLAND, Calif.- Asian Health Services and the California Healthy Nail Salon
Collaborative announced that the recently signed Healthy Nail Salon Bill, AB215, will transform the nail industry in California. This landmark bill is a key step to improving the health of nail salon workers and consumers in California. The Healthy Nail Salon Bill was authored by Assembly Member David Chiu (D-San Francisco) and recently signed by Governor Jerry Brown.
The nail salon industry is an $8 billion industry with approximately 129, 000 nail salon workers and nearly 53, 000 licensed businesses, many of which provide manicure services, in California. This bill will proactively take steps to establish statewide program guidelines to help cities and counties incentivize nail salons to use products that are less toxic and to adopt practices that are safer for their workers and customers. Eighty percent of nail salon workers are Asian immigrants with limited English speaking skills.
“This bill uses the incentive approach and encourages businesses to voluntarily become healthier nail salons, which will help both their workers and their patrons, ” said Assembly Member Chiu. “There shouldn’t be hidden costs to polished nails, and as San Francisco’s healthy nail salon program says, ‘Pretty Shouldn’t Stink.'”
In light of this development, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University also announced today that the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative and Asian Health Services, along with five collaborating city and county departments, is the national winner of the 2016 Roy Family Award for Environmental Partnership, an award presented every two years to a public-private partnership project that enhances quality through use of novel and creative approaches.
“This landmark bill reflects an unprecedented commitment by the state to positively impact the health of thousands of nail salon workers. In signing this bill, Governor Brown has taken important action on this overlooked public health issue and ensuring this industry, an economic cornerstone for many immigrants, is sustainable for its workers for decades to come, ” said Julia Liou, Program Planning and Development Director for Asian Health Services and Co-Founder of the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative. “In addition, we are honored by the Roy Family Award, which further recognizes our work in California as a model for the nation.”
