LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Tensions are high between the Kentucky Board of Cosmetology (KBC) and the minority community which makes up most nail salon owners, techs and educators.
The group said they are experiencing racism and injustice every time an inspector walks into their business and for some the outcome has cost them everything.
"We come over to this country in pursuit of the American Dream. The "Land of Opportunity," but now we feel like a criminal," Nail Tech Anton Nguyen said.
Salon Owner Miki Pham said it's difficult because "you always have to be afraid" if inspectors show up.
"Are they going to be lenient on you?" Pham said. "Or are they going to be harassing you like what happened at Tippi?"
Immediate closure
In May of 2023, two inspectors from the state board went to the Tippi Nail Lounge in St. Matthews for a routine inspection. As soon as they walked in, the staff could tell something was off.
"They had a lot of negative energy when they came in," Owner Juliane Vo said. "We felt threatened by them before they even inspected the place."
Juliane and her husband, Q Dinh, said it was the first time the salon was inspected since opening four years earlier.
According to a memo written by KBC Inspector Jason Back, the inspectors were searching for a certain chemical. During the inspection, one of the inspectors checked an area near a dog and the dog "attacked her."
The salon owners described it as a scratch.
"We were terrified, he threatened to shoot the dogs in front of us and the clients. We didn't know what to think," Dinh said.
Inspector Back was heard on surveillance video saying: "get that dog or I'm going to shoot it." He then ordered an emergency closure of the salon, asked customers to leave and posted a note on the front door.
Then, the couple had to wait for word from the Kentucky Board of Cosmetology on what to do next. Dinh said he tried reaching out in multiple ways, but never connected with the board.
"They are not responsive to emails, they are unreachable. They are not open to the public," he explained. "We have no way to reach them unless we are represented by a lawyer, and that's hard to pay for a lawyer when you're not working."
Eventually the owners drove to Frankfort to talk to the board in person.
"We went down there to Frankfort and said 'hey what's going on? We've been shut down for like a month or over that.' That day, when we was raising hell with them, that's when they sent us all of those violations," Vo said.
'We had to shut down.'
The board charged the salon with 14 violations including improperly stored towels, an unlicensed person providing nail services, a dangerous dog on the premises and more. The board also issued a fine of $12,750.
The salon would not be allowed to open again until the owners paid the fine, corrected the violations and had the business re-inspected. But the owners said re-opening was never an option, because they could not afford the fine.
"It just doesn't make sense to us," Vo said. "We're literally living day by day. We literally live in a camper right now-- that's how bad it is. We haven't been able to make the bills and stuff, so we had to shut down our salon permanently and move everything out."
Because the owners couldn't afford to pay the fine, they said they were forced to surrender the business license and Dinh had his personal license suspended too, meaning he didn't only lose his business, he lost his ability to work.
"I've been in the industry until 2004 and I never had any issue with the Board of Cosmetology until that day. They didn't even give us a chance to fix it all," he said.
Although their experience was extreme, it's not entirely unusual. Nail Tech Anton Nguyen said, in recent years, inspections have been hostile.
He described the feeling as "nervous, worried, scared," as soon as the inspectors walk in the business.
"The whole group of people come in with video," Nguyen said. "You know, sometimes they don't show the badge -- we don't know what's going here. Is this undercover police? A DEA sting operation?"
According to the KBC, "some inspections do have video, but it is not a requirement of the Board that inspectors record all inspections." Meaning, the use of video during the inspection is unregulated.
It's not only the inspections causing concern for this community, it's also what happens after the inspection.
Salon Owner Miki Pham said the fines are unpredictable. She said different inspectors will assign different fines for the same violation. According to the Board, there is no set list of violations with a corresponding fine.
Statutory violations can range from $50 to $1,500 per violation. For regulations, the fines can range from $25 to $750 per violation. Ultimately, the fine is up to the discretion of the inspector.
"I do not believe it's fair," Pham said.
Fighting for regulation
One of the most common reasons for a fine is having an unlicensed tech working in the salon.
Longtime salon owner Kevin Vu said those techs typically know the rules and regulations, and may even be licensed to work in another state, but they don't know English so they fail the Kentucky exam.
"The nail industry in Kentucky, the regulations, are very difficult compared with other states. Yes, in other states they have multi-language tests, but in Kentucky, just English," Vu said.
The KBC said the "pass rate" for that exam is less than 50%. The nail salon community suggests that isn't because of a lack of education, but instead a lack of understanding of English. It's one of the many issues they have with the way Kentucky is regulating the nail industry and one of the many reasons they have taken this fight to Frankfort.
In late-September, hundreds of nail techs and salon owners showed up with signs spelling out the problems -- bullying, English-only exams, inspectors without industry experience, and no representation on the state cosmetology board.
"As a community, this makes us believe the board's agenda is to terrorize the Asian community of Kentucky," Nail Salon School Owner Lianna Nguyen said.
Face-to-face with Kentucky lawmakers, at a hearing in front of the Committee on Race and Access to Opportunity, the community shared their stories.
"I don't think they train properly to inspect nail salons. There is no rules -- whatever they feel at that time, the emotion at that time, they rule with their emotion, not by the book," Anton Nguyen said.
'A reasonable request.'
During the hearing, the community presented a solution: a new piece of legislation they believe would remove barriers and level the playing field. The proposed bill has five recommendations.
The first is for exams to be offered in multiple languages so students have the opportunity to understand the material instead of memorizing English.
Kentucky Senator Whitney Westerfield agreed it was a good idea and asked the KBC Executive Director Julie Campbell if that is something she would consider.
"It doesn't matter if they understand it in this language, it's about whether they understand it at all. And if that needs to be in a native language, that seems to be a reasonable request," he said.
Campbell responded, "I understand what you're saying, however...”
"Then you should be able to answer with a simple yes or no," Westerfield interjected.
"However, EPA-regulated disinfectants that are used in salon environments and necessary for safety for infection control do not have labels in every language out there," Campbell said.
"That's fair, but the exam -- is that not something the board would be willing to offer in multiple languages?" Westerfield pressed, looking for a direct answer.
"If it was accessible through our exam vendor, potentially yes," Campbell said.
The KBC's exam vendor is PSI, and the company does offer the nail tech exam in other languages. In fact, nearby states like Tennessee take advantage of the option, offering the test in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Fair representation
As part of their recommended legislation, the nail community also asked for representation on the state board.
"Laws and regulations are constantly changing, but we are never informed. Not even a letter. Yet we are expected to operate perfectly," Lianna Nguyen explained. They want someone who has training and experience in their industry.
On this point, Kentucky Senator Gerald Neal asked KBC leaders if there's any difficulties including an additional member who is a licensed nail technician.
"Other than the fact that...an even number board makes it very difficult to conduct business if there's any disagreement," Campbell responded.
"Ok then...two members shall be licensed nail technicians," Neal pushed.
Representation on the KBC is something the community hopes will lead to their next recommendation, which is better regulation over the board's inspectors.
Liana Nguyen's hand shook as she read from her notes, the fear and anger visible. She believes because of rouge inspectors, people's livelihoods are on the line.
"It's unacceptable for an official to threaten to shoot anything," Nguyen said, referring to the video of the inspection at Tippi Nail Lounge.
It stems from that May incident where KBC Inspector Jason Back, a former police officer, threatened to shoot a dog at the salon during a tense inspection.
According to the board's website, Back wasn't assigned to Jefferson County but for some reason he inspected Tippi Nails in St. Matthews, found 14 violations and fined the salon almost $13,000.
The salon owners couldn't pay it and were forced to close.
"The thing is they shut us down without even giving us a chance to prove our innocence," Tippi Owner Q Dinh said.
The nail community alleges Back and other KBC inspectors are unprofessional and unpredictable.
They also take issue with a new board policy requiring all payments to be made by money order -- no credit cards or personal checks are accepted. The community explained often times those payments get lost and there's no paper trail. They are forced to pay again, or close their salon.
Lele Tran said her husband, a salon owner in eastern Kentucky, mailed in a $4,000 money order to pay for a fine, and then waited for the board to allow them to re-open. The wait lasted months and during that time, she said the stress took a hold of him. He had a stroke and has been hospitalized since.
"We just keep waiting, waiting. We were shutdown almost 9 months. how can we handle that?" Tran said. "They so heartless." The couple eventually had to close the salon.
The stories come from all over Kentucky and all point to a problem. A problem some lawmakers seem to recognize needs some reconciliation.
"I don't see anything objectionable to the five recommendations that they're asking for," Westerfield said.
Still the fight is far from over as the committee meeting only serves as a sounding board until lawmakers are back in session next year.
Until then, the men and women working in Kentucky's nail industry can only hope their businesses don't buckle between now and then.
WHAS11 News asked the Kentucky Board of Cosmetology to sit down for an interview but they declined the request.
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