the owner sets the rates paid by customers; and you use the owner's tools and equipment, you may be more likely to be considered an employee. Employers must provide protection against workplace hazards for their employees; independent contractors are responsible for their own occupational health and safety protection. Employees also have rights to a minimum wage, workers' compensation, and other benefits. Independent contractors do not. Just because a salon owner tells you that you are an independent contractor, it does not mean that you are one and, just because an owner gives you an IRS form 1099 instead of a W-2 does not mean that you are an independent contractor. Salons sometimes misclassify the employment status of their workers to bypass taking protective safety and health measures and also to deny benefits. That is why it is important for you to know the difference between what constitutes an employee and an independent contractor. If you need help, you can contact OSHA at 1-800-321-OSHA (6742).
Sometimes in the cosmetology industry there is confusion about OHSA safety protections extended to workers because of their status as independent contractors as opposed to employees. OSHA provides the following information and resource to clarify this issue: ● What is the difference between an Employee and an Independent Contractor for purposes of the Occupational Safety and Health Act? (OSHA,2021) It doesn’t matter how an individual is labeled by the salon owner. Instead, courts and agencies will look at a list of factors to determine whether you are an employee or independent contractor. For example, if you: rent a station at a salon; purchase your own supplies and tools; have your own customers and set your own schedule and appointments; set your own rate and are paid by customers directly; and have your own business license, you may be more likely to be considered an independent contractor. However, if the owner sets the work schedule; you are paid by the hour; the owner or receptionist makes the appointments for all workers; you do not rent the space;
● Why does it matter?
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)
lists chemicals, brand names, and companies that manufacture and distribute these products (EPA,2022). These lists are important to document the efficacy of chemicals and staff and clients have the right to view this information about chemical used for cleaning, disinfection and sterilization. It is important to select the appropriate product because not all EPA registered disinfectants meet the OSHA standards for eradication of bloodborne pathogens.
The EPA provides several resources that help protect employees and clients in cosmetology services. One important resource is the registration of disinfectants that can be used to destroy a variety of microorganisms found in the cosmetology workplace. The products will not be EPA registered unless their efficacy data has been confirmed and the label information has been verified. These chemicals will receive an EPA registration number so they can be easily identified. The EPA registered chemicals are organized on lists titled with alphabet letters A-P. For example, list A is used for sterilization,
THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
This agency is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and provides a wealth of information to ensure health equity in the workplace as well as home and community. General guidance and information specific to hair and nail salons can be found on their websites at CDC. gov. Topics include infection
control, ventilation, hazardous chemicals, disease transmission, disinfecting the workplace, personal hygiene, protective equipment, and universal and standard precautions to protect workers. These CDC topics and precautions will be covered in Chapters Two and Three.
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA)
contaminants, processing, packaging, or shipping and handling. Under the FD&C Act, a cosmetic is adulterated if: ○ "It bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to users under the conditions of use prescribed in the labeling thereof, or under conditions of use as are customary and usual" (with an exception made for coal-tar hair dyes) ○ "It consists in whole or in part of any filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance.” ○ "It has been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health”. ○ "It’s container is composed, in whole or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the contents injurious to health"; or except for coal-tar hair dyes, "it is, or it bears or contains, a color additive which is unsafe within the meaning of section 721(a)" of the FD&C Act. “Misbranding” refers to violations involving improperly labeled or deceptively packaged products. Under the FD&C Act, a cosmetic is misbranded if: ● "Its labeling is false or misleading in any particular.”
The FDA does approval and regulation for many hair and nail products that fall under the heading of cosmetics. The following information is summarized from the FDA website and provides examples of the relationship between the federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and cosmetology services (FDA,2022a): The law does not require cosmetic products and ingredients, other than color additives, to have FDA approval before they go on the market, but there are laws and regulations that apply to cosmetics on the market in interstate commerce. The FD&C Act defines cosmetics by their intended use, as "articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body... for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance" (FD&C Act, sec. 201(i)). Among the products included in this definition are skin moisturizers, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail polishes, eye, and facial makeup, cleansing shampoos, permanent waves, hair colors, and deodorants, as well as any substance intended for use as a component of a cosmetic product. The FD&C Act prohibits the marketing of adulterated or misbranded cosmetics in interstate commerce.
“Adulteration” refers to violations involving product composition--whether they result from ingredients,
Book Code: COH0325A
EliteLearning.com/Cosmetology
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