Владелец салона красоты в Южной Каролине подал в суд на штат из-за запрета на мобильные услуги

GREENVILLE — A local beauty salon owner is suing the state of South Carolina, arguing its ban on mobile salons — while simultaneously allowing mobile barbershops — violates the U.S. Constitution. Filed by Brandi Rosemond, owner of Ayaba of Beauty in Greenville, the suit takes aim at a provision of state law that requires salons to operate out of a single building. By comparison, barbershops, which do many of the same things as salons, may work in mobile units or in clients’ homes or businesses. “That is irrational, and it is unconstitutional,” said Kaitrin Marquez, a lawyer for the Institute for Justice. “If a barber can shape beards and apply products to the face outside of a brick-and-mortar salon healthfully, so can estheticians.” The Institute for Justice, a national law firm that focuses on civil rights issues, has a history of advocating on behalf of estheticians, cosmetologists and others in the beauty industry. Whether to allow mobile beauty salons is especially relevant in South Carolina, a state with a booming tourism and wedding industry, it said. Filed in the U.S. District Court of South Carolina and naming the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation and the S.C. Board of Cosmetology as defendants, the lawsuit argues the state’s different treatment of barbershops and beauty salons violates the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection. In a statement, the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation noted that the state’s General Assembly passed a law authorizing mobile barbershops in 2021. It has not passed a law to authorize mobile beauty salons. If a similar law were passed, the department said, it would establish a permitting process for mobile salons. Rosemond said she attended The Paul Mitchell School in Greenville and officially received her license in January. Given the high costs of starting her own business, she decided to turn an old RV into a mobile beauty salon, outfitting it with everything she would need to meet the requirements of a brick-and-mortar shop. She envisioned taking it to weddings, employee appreciation days or other pop-ups, hopefully transitioning to a standalone salon or spa in the future. But before Rosemond could begin business, she received a letter from the Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation warning her that it had received a complaint about her plans. Mobile salons, it noted, are illegal. State statute leaves the possibility of mobile salons largely unaddressed, defining a salon simply as “a building or any place, or part of a place or building including, but not limited to, a rental booth.” The one exception is when a customer suffers illness, invalidism or death. Meanwhile, mobile barbershops are explicitly authorized and regulated, thanks to the 2021 law. That distinction, Marquez said, is “bonkers.” That’s because in other ways, the state treats estheticians and barbers similarly, she said. For example, both can remove facial hair and provide facial massages and treatments. Both must have access to certain equipment and adhere to health practices, such as handwashing, disposing of towels and using disinfectant. The training requirements are different, though. Barbers must receive a minimum of 1,500 hours of training while estheticians must receive a minimum of 450 hours. The lawsuit argues there is no reason barbershops and beauty salons should be treated differently, nor is there any reason estheticians wouldn’t be able to perform their work safely on the road. “It's not like if she walks out of her brick-and-mortar salon into that RV over there, her makeup becomes any less safe,” said senior attorney Josh Windham. “… She knows how to do this work. The government agrees she knows how to do this work. It doesn't have any business telling her where she can do it.” Rosemond said she consulted with legislators to try and change the law, but she did not make enough headway. That’s why she turned to the courts. She and her lawyers emphasized she’s not asking for special treatment and would welcome more regulations governing mobile salons. She just wants to operate the same way a barber can. “I never expected to become an activist,” Rosemond said. “I just wanted to do facials, build my clientele, and help people feel good about themselves.”