Latest news with #CaliforniaSupremeCourt
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal lawsuit claims California's labor code discriminates against Vietnamese nail techs, salon owners
A federal civil lawsuit against California alleges that the state's Labor Code discriminates against Vietnamese-American manicurists and salon owners, following the passage of a 2020 law that changed how employees and independent contractors are classified. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on Saturday, argues that only nail technicians are excluded from being classified as independent contractors due to a California law enacted in 2020. Nail technicians, many of whom are Vietnamese-American, were also considered independent contractors before the law's passage. According to the suit, 'in California, approximately 82% of all nail manicurists/ pedicurists ('nail technicians') are Vietnamese American, and 85% of these are women.' 'The penalties for misclassifying a worker as an independent contractor are severe, and when the defendants, as heads of their enforcement agencies, enforce the new rule prohibiting nail technicians from being independent contractors, the damage to the plaintiffs will be severe and irreparable. In this regard, the salon plaintiffs will be forced out of business and will be forced to close their doors. In addition, the salon plaintiffs will be subject to significant assessments and financial penalties that will be impossible to pay,' the suit added. California Assemblyman Tri Ta (R-Westminster) stated that he has introduced legislation, Assembly Bill 504, to restore equal rights to manicurists. The labor law switch occurred in 2020, when AB 5, a law that altered the classification of workers as employees or independent contractors, took effect. Before its passage, in 2018, the California Supreme Court changed the requirements companies must use to label their workers as independent contractors. At the time, companies that opposed the bill waged a campaign to prevent its passage. The businesses that filed the suit include multiple locations of Happy Nails & Spa, Holly and Hudson, and Blu Nail Bar. 'Since January, Vietnamese American manicurists have faced blatant discrimination under California's labor laws, stripped of the same rights and freedoms afforded to others in their industry,' Scott Wellman, attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. 'If the State of California refuses to fix this injustice, we are prepared to hold them accountable in federal court.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Miami Herald
5 hours ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Vietnamese American salon owners sue California alleging labor code is discriminatory
Several Vietnamese American-owned nail salons in Orange County have sued California, alleging the state's labor code is discriminating against their businesses. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on Friday, alleges that the state's labor code violates the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law by forcing nail technicians to be classified as employees. The suit argues that professionals in the beauty industry for years have operated as independent contractors, renting space in a salon and bringing in their own clients. That changed at the beginning of 2025, when nail technicians in the labor code became required to be classified as employees, the lawsuit said. California Assemblyman Tri Ta (R-Westminster), who represents Little Saigon and surrounding communities, said his office has fielded much concern from Vietnamese American nail salon owners. "Their lives have turned upside down overnight," Ta said at a news conference Monday morning. "It is not just unfair, it is discrimination." The switch in labor law came back in 2019, when a sweeping law governing worker classification rules across various industries called Assembly Bill 5 was approved - a law that codified a California Supreme Court decision creating a stricter test to judge whether a worker should be considered an employee rather than an independent contractor. AB 5 sought to crack down on industries where many workers are misclassified as independent contractors, who are not afforded protections including minimum wage, overtime pay and workers' compensation that employees have access to. But various industries have said AB 5 targets them unfairly, creating an uneven playing field for businesses. Some professions received carve-outs, including doctors, accountants, real estate agents and hairdressers; while others such as truckers, commercial janitors and physical therapists must abide by the tighter classification rules. Some implementation of the law was staggered to give industries, including nail technicians, time to adapt. The lawsuit describes how the nail salon industry in California became dominated by Vietnamese workers in recent decades, when Vietnamese refugees began fleeing to the U.S. in large numbers in 1975 after the fall of Saigon in America's failed military intervention in Southeast Asia. The industry "has become synonymous with the Vietnamese community," the lawsuit said, with more than 82% of all nail technicians in California being Vietnamese American, and some 85% women. The businesses that filed suit include multiple locations of Blue Nail Bar, Happy Nails & Spa and Holly and Hudson Nail Lounge. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Hundreds of California bar exam-takers move from fail to pass with new scoring
June 2 (Reuters) - More than 200 people who took California's disastrous February bar exam will go from failing to passing under a new round of grading changes approved on Friday, boosting the test's overall pass rate from 56% to 63% — nearly double the state's historical average of 35%. The grading change affecting 230 test takers is the State Bar of California's latest attempt to mitigate the fallout of its February test, which was plagued with technical and logistical problems. That exam has sparked several lawsuits, including at least two filed by test takers and one filed by the state bar against the testing company that administered it. The February exam was the debut of California's hybrid remote and in-person test without the components of the national bar exam the state has used for decades — a change that was intended to save as much as $3.8 million annually. But addressing all its problems for the July exam is now expected to add nearly $6 million in costs. With the approval of the California Supreme Court, the state bar already implemented a lower raw passing score and 'imputed' scores for test takers who weren't able to complete significant portions of the two-day exam. Some state bar trustees have expressed discomfort with some of the exam's proposed remedies and the higher pass rate, citing the bar's duty to protect the public from unqualified lawyers. The state bar faced a difficult task in finding "fair solutions" that maintained the exam's integrity, the organization said in a Monday statement. The bar "would never take any steps to detract from its public protection mission," it said. On Friday, the State Bar of California's Committee of Bar Examiners voted to modify how February scores were calculated for examinees who initially fell just shy of passing and qualified for a second read of their essays and performance test. Instead of using an average of the first and second-read scores — as the bar initially did — the new scores will be based solely on the higher of the two reads. The latest scoring change was detailed in a report, opens new tab from the state bar's staff to the committee, and the 230 new passers will be informed by the bar this week, according to a Friday email to test takers reviewed by Reuters. The state bar has also asked the California Supreme Court to extend an existing provisional licensure program, which it had enacted in 2020 when the bar exam was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, to give unsuccessful February bar examinees or those who withdrew a period of two years to pass that test while working under supervision. The court has not yet ruled on that proposal. Read more: California bar exam meltdown on Tuesday prompts offer of March retakes California Bar backs provisional licensing after February exam mess
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Vietnamese American salon owners sue California alleging labor code is discriminatory
Several Vietnamese American-owned nail salons in Orange County have sued California, alleging the state's labor code is discriminating against their businesses. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on Friday, alleges that the state's labor code violates the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law by forcing nail technicians to be classified as employees. Read more: Google settles lawsuit alleging bias against Black employees The suit argues that professionals in the beauty industry for years have operated as independent contractors, renting space in a salon and bringing in their own clients. That changed at the beginning of 2025, when nail technicians in the labor code became required to be classified as employees, the lawsuit said. California Assemblyman Tri Ta (R-Westminster), who represents Little Saigon and surrounding communities, said his office has fielded much concern from Vietnamese American nail salon owners. "Their lives have turned upside down overnight," Ta said at a news conference Monday morning. "It is not just unfair, it is discrimination." The switch in labor law came back in 2019, when a sweeping law governing worker classification rules across various industries called Assembly Bill 5 was approved — a law that codified a California Supreme Court decision creating a stricter test to judge whether a worker should be considered an employee rather than an independent contractor. Read more: New California labor law AB 5 is already changing how businesses treat workers AB 5 sought to crack down on industries where many workers are misclassified as independent contractors, who are not afforded protections including minimum wage, overtime pay and workers' compensation that employees have access to. But various industries have said AB 5 targets them unfairly, creating an uneven playing field for businesses. Some professions received carve-outs, including doctors, accountants, real estate agents and hairdressers; while others such as truckers, commercial janitors and physical therapists must abide by the tighter classification rules. Some implementation of the law was staggered to give industries, including nail technicians, time to adapt. The lawsuit describes how the nail salon industry in California became dominated by Vietnamese workers in recent decades, when Vietnamese refugees began fleeing to the U.S. in large numbers in 1975 after the fall of Saigon in America's failed military intervention in Southeast Asia. The industry "has become synonymous with the Vietnamese community," the lawsuit said, with more than 82% of all nail technicians in California being Vietnamese American, and some 85% women. The businesses that filed suit include multiple locations of Blue Nail Bar, Happy Nails & Spa and Holly and Hudson Nail Lounge. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
8 hours ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Vietnamese American manicurists, salon owners sue California alleging labor code is discriminatory
Several Vietnamese American-owned nail salons in Orange County have sued California, alleging the state's labor code is discriminating against their businesses. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on Friday, alleges that the state's labor code violates the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law by forcing nail technicians to be classified as employees. The suit argues that professionals in the beauty industry for years have operated as independent contractors, renting space in a salon and bringing in their own clients. That changed at the beginning of 2025, when nail technicians in the labor code became required to be classified as employees, the lawsuit said. California Assemblyman Tri Ta (R-Westminster), who represents Little Saigon and surrounding communities, said his office has fielded much concern from Vietnamese American nail salon owners. 'Their lives have turned upside down overnight,' Ta said at a news conference Monday morning. 'It is not just unfair, it is discrimination.' The switch in labor law came back in 2019, when a sweeping law governing worker classification rules across various industries called Assembly Bill 5 was approved — a law that codified a California Supreme Court decision creating a stricter test to judge whether a worker should be considered an employee rather than an independent contractor. AB 5 sought to crack down on industries where many workers are misclassified as independent contractors, who are not afforded protections including minimum wage, overtime pay and workers' compensation that employees have access to. But various industries have said AB 5 targets them unfairly, creating an uneven playing field for businesses. Some professions received carve-outs, including doctors, accountants, real estate agents and hairdressers; while others such as truckers, commercial janitors and physical therapists must abide by the tighter classification rules. Some implementation of the law was staggered to give industries, including nail technicians, time to adapt. The lawsuit describes how the nail salon industry in California became dominated by Vietnamese workers in recent decades, when Vietnamese refugees began fleeing to the U.S. in large numbers in 1975 after the fall of Saigon in America's failed military intervention in Southeast Asia. The industry 'has become synonymous with the Vietnamese community,' the lawsuit said, with more than 82% of all nail technicians in California being Vietnamese American, and some 85% women. The businesses that filed suit include multiple locations of Blue Nail Bar, Happy Nails & Spa and Holly and Hudson Nail Lounge.
