Winnipeg salons nailed for labour violations

Two Winnipeg nail salons have been fined by the province for failing to meet employment standards, such as proper payment of overtime or holiday pay, but the province says many more claims could be going unfiled in the industry.

The fines were issued between 2010 and 2013; A1 Nail Pampers on Pembina Highway was fined $500 while Professionail in Kildonan Place was fined $1,500.

The province said the wage violations came to its attention through anonymous tips. 

In an email, the province said "despite the high level of non-compliance identified in our investigation, it is our experience that employees in the nail salon industry do not typically file wage claims."

Since 2011, Employment Standards has issued eight formal notices to businesses that provide nail services. 

But industry insiders say that's just the tip of the iceberg. 

Katherine Horbaty has worked in the business for 35 years. Before striking out on her own, she worked in a number of Winnipeg nail salons where she said workers were regularly exploited.

Horbaty said she worked a lot of unpaid overtime and had to put up with "a lot of abuse toward estheticians by the employer taking advantage of hours worked."

"They would just really book us tightly that we couldn't do people in the right amount of time that was given," Horbaty said, "Most of the time they would say that you went over the time you were doing a client and they weren't going to pay for that so basically they were blaming us."

Horbaty has been working on her own for more than a decade now.

"I knew that I could do better on my own than working for somebody," she said.

"It concerns me that they are being taken advantage of by their employer because they are working quite hard ... More salons need to be checked and more employees need to be questioned. Maybe they're scared to say something.  Maybe the employer has threatened them."

Horbaty believes the province needs to aggressively investigate the industry. 

"They need to talk to each employee separately to see what they have to say and if they need an interpreter for most of them which I am sure they're going to because most of these girls don't talk English," she said.

Thuy Lam, owner of A1 Nail Pampers, said the 2011 Employment Standards fine had to do with unpaid overtime and there have not been any issues since then.

The other business fined, Professionail, has since changed its name to Luxury Nail and Spa.

The business told CBC it addressed the issues with Employment Standards and staff earn between $14 and 16 an hour.

Toxic effects

Workers at other nail salons told the I-Team's secret shoppers that it is common practice for bosses to take their tips and that they were not paid overtime or for stat holidays like Christmas.

For those who study the industry, wages aren't the only concern. There's also the toxic effects of working in nail salons.

Higher rates of miscarriage, more difficulty getting pregnant and then there are some issues for the offspring of women who work in salons.- Anne Rochon Ford, National Network on Environments and Women's Health, York University

"There's a number of red flags," said Anne Rochon Ford with the National Network on Environments and Women's Health at York University

"There's higher rates of asthma and other respiratory conditions with women who do this work day in and day out. There are also some reproductive issues that a little less is known about but still raise a flag of concern."

She added, "[There are also] higher rates of miscarriage, more difficulty getting pregnant and then there are some issues for the offspring of women who work in salons."

Rochon Ford said many of the chemicals used in nail salons can pose health problems and are classified as endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which can play havoc with hormones.

"The ones that we're most concerned about are generally referred to as the toxic trio. They are formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate and toluene. They're in different products, some more strongly than others.

"On top of those there's a longer list, for example, acetone in nail polish remover is a chemical of concern as well, but there are many. And at this point in time, they are not that well regulated," Rochon Ford said.

Rochon Ford suggested those looking to make an ethical and healthy choice for their nails should pay close attention to the prices.

"If they're working in the cheaper salons, they're also probably making less money," she said. "So there's real concerns about what they're being exposed to on a daily basis and the long hours they would have to work in order to make a reasonable wage."

Four years ago, Manitoba conducted a study of chemicals in nail salons and didn't find any major problems. 

But in December of 2015, Labour and Immigration got a complaint about high levels of formaldehyde in a nail salon.

Preliminary tests in two salons revealed higher than acceptable levels of formaldehyde. Final results are expected in the next week.

"We are aware of the hazards or the risks that workers could be potential facing if they are exposed to high levels of chemicals at the nail salons," said Mike Van Kats, the prosecutions director for Labour and Immigration.

"If we have two positive results based on two establishments that we've tested we will absolutely go to the remaining establishments across the province to make sure that this isn't an industry-wide issue." 

If it turns out the final tests come back positive, the department will require the salons to educate the employees about the hazards and risk of exposure to the chemicals, train them in safety precautions and the businesses would be required to improve ventilation to remove the harmful chemicals from the air.

"We call them vulnerable workers. Often these workers are new Canadians, new to the country or they are here on work visas, work permits, " Van Kats said, "They may be a little more hesitant to come forward to their employers or to us if they have health concerns. They could be concerned about repercussions from their employers or they don't want to be labelled as troublemakers."

Employment Standards says it has identified the nail salon industry as a strategic priority for 2016.

The province says it undertakes proactive investigations to protect vulnerable employees and collaborates with other law enforcement agencies to investigate possible exploitation or abuse.

Information and tips from the public are used to help target proactive investigations.