Unbraided enterprise

Insight on the News, Jan 27, 1997 by Jamie Dettmer

Ever tried to set up a business? If you have, you'll know the pitfalls, particularly those created by federal and state governments. There is an endless supply of whimsical bureaucratic hurdles and hoops, regulations and demands, taxes and fees. The "new leviathan," as writer James Bovard describes American government, reaches into every nook and cranny of life even the lives of New York hair braiders, who are required by the Empire State to be adroit at, among a dizzying list of other things, resume and letter writing before being allowed to work legally.

Not only that, African-style braiders, otherwise known as natural hair stylists, are required by a 1994 New York general business law to be trained in hair-cutting and face shaving -- although they never cut hair nor shave clients. Confused? It gets worse. The 900-hour course they are required by state law to complete is not taught by any cosmetology school in New York. Franz Kafka, where are you when needed!

Fueled by an old-fashioned sense of justice, a young enterprising lawyer is ready to do battle to protect budding African-style braiders from the byzantine nonsense inflicted on them by the state Legislature. The recently graduated Mark Smith has filed an action with the New York Supreme Court requesting the law be overturned as unconstitutional. In his complaint on behalf of two African-American women who want to be braiders, Smith maintains the law deprives his plaintiffs of their "basic constitutional rights to pursue the occupation of their choice free from arbitrary and capricious government interference."

"This is a perfect example of government run amok," says Smith, an attorney at New York's Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. "America is meant to be the home of free enterprise but you wouldn't know it."

Under the New York law, anyone who wants to work as an African-style braider must receive an occupational license from the state. If they don't, they can be taken to court by the "braid police," officially the state's licensing authorities, and fined thousands of dollars. To get the license they must complete the 900-hour course which was designed by bureaucrats. Smith's complaint says it all:

"A prospective African-style hair braider must complete, among other requirements: a) 200 hours of "hair cutting and shaping" training even though they do not cut hair; b) 160 hours of "hair-styling" training, teaching many hair styles and hair-styling techniques that an African-style hair braider would never use; c) 12 hours of training in how to shave faces even though they don't shave faces; d) 30 hours of "business practices" training and 6 hours of "job skills" training in subjects such as resume writing, marketing, advertising, product promotion, interviewing, letter writing, industry trade shows and job attitudes even though a person could work as a perfectly safe and competent hairbraider without such business training; and e) 82 hours of "unassigned" and undefined training such that nobody reading the regulation alone would know what is required of a prospective African-style hair braider to satisfy this requirement."

So far, no one has as yet been prosecuted for illicit braiding even though no one has ever secured a license. But hundreds of braiders are at work in the Empire State, so presumably they risk prosecution. They also could find themselves facing insurance problems.