Hair-Braider Sues over Utah Law Requiring Cosmetology License

[The Straight Story]

Hair-Braider Sues over Utah Law Requiring Cosmetology License

Jestina Clayton is suing the state of Utah for requiring her to get a cosmetology license so she can weave hair—something she claims is unconstitutional.

A refugee from Sierra Leone, Clayton says she was told by a state regulator two years ago that she would not need licensing for her part-time work, since her traditional African hairstyling does not involve chemicals or cutting. Then, last year, she discovered her business was illegal unless she obtained a cosmetology license. But getting a license requires taking about 2,000 hours of coursework, at a cost ranging from $9,000 to $18,000 in tuition. Clayton makes less than $5,000 a year braiding hair.

With the help of the libertarian Institute for Justice, Clayton has filed a lawsuit to force the state to change its cosmetology law. Mississippi did just that in 2005, by amending its statute as it pertains to hair-braiders.

Another 10 states, including California and Arizona, already exempt braiders from such laws.

http://www.allgov.com/Unusual_News/ViewNews/Hair_Braider_Sues_over_Utah_Law_Requiring_Cosmetology_License_110430

[WillowTree]

1. OK.

[jmowreader]

2. Anything the Institute for Justice is involved with worries me

I am going to assume there is some reason why the state couldn't come up with a Hair Braider license--one weekend of health and sanitation training, a practical examination on hair braiding and a week of hands-on training for anyone who either flunks the practical or who wants to learn the trade from the beginning.