The Louisiana Cosmetology Act: What the Statute Says and How It Is Enforced

The board: who sits on it and how it is constituted

The Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology is created by R.S. 37:571 and domiciled in East Baton Rouge Parish. It has eight members, appointed by the governor and serving at his pleasure, with at least one member appointed from each congressional district, and every appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. A vacancy must be filled by the governor within thirty days of notice. The qualifications in R.S. 37:572 are examinable in their own right: a member must be a registered voter domiciled in Louisiana for at least twelve consecutive months before appointment, and must be either a registered cosmetologist actively engaged for at least five years, or an owner of a certified salon, or a teacher of cosmetology in the state. Two structural limits catch people out. The members may not all be graduates of the same school, and no more than four of them may be connected with a school of cosmetology, where connected is defined to reach ownership, employment, a contract, or an immediate family member with an ownership interest. A member who would be required to vote on a matter that would put him in breach of the Code of Governmental Ethics must recuse himself.

Money, meetings and the executive director

The governor designates one member as chairman and the chairman designates a vice chairman, and a quorum is a majority of the members physically present. Members draw a per diem set in R.S. 37:599 at one hundred dollars, but no member may draw it for more than eight days in a month, except that the chairman may appoint a committee of no more than three members who may draw it for up to fifteen days. Travel and incidental expenses need an itemised statement with receipts and vouchers attached, paid under state travel regulations, and the statement must reach the board no later than its next official meeting. All money the board receives goes into the Cosmetologists' Board Fund and may be used for nothing except the board's own operating expenses. The board may employ an executive director, an unclassified state employee whose salary the board sets but may not set above seventy-five thousand dollars a year.

Unlawful practice, exemptions and the penalty ladder

R.S. 37:581(A) makes it unlawful to practise cosmetology without a current certificate of registration for the appropriate area of practice. The exemptions in R.S. 37:581(B) apply only while the person is properly discharging professional duties in a facility the board does not license, and cover physicians and surgeons, commissioned armed forces and Veterans Administration medical officers, persons licensed by the Louisiana Board of Barber Examiners, hospital and nursing home employees, anyone performing cosmetology for a member of their own immediate household, and ear piercing done with single use hollow stainless steel needles. Ear piercing at home for payment is barred outright. There are two separate money penalties and the exam likes to confuse them: an inspector may issue a citation and collect twenty-five dollars per violation up to three hundred dollars per week, but only where the registrant waives a hearing in writing, while on proof of a violation the board itself may order payment of up to two hundred dollars per violation up to a five thousand dollar total. Each day a violation occurs is a separate violation.

Hearings, injunctions and the appeal route

On a written complaint the executive director fixes a hearing and sends the charges by certified mail or hand delivery at least twenty calendar days before the date, to the registrant's last known address or to the facility where the violation is alleged. A witness under subpoena is paid the fees and mileage that witnesses get in civil cases, and where a party other than the board wants the subpoena those fees must be deposited in advance. The board may seek a writ of injunction against anyone practising without a certificate, may demand a penalty of up to five thousand dollars plus attorney fees and costs in that suit, and an injunction issued under the Chapter is not subject to being released on bond. A cease and desist order gives the person two days from receipt to stop before the executive director may go for an injunction. The appeal route is specific and worth memorising: a person refused a certificate, or whose certificate is suspended, revoked or not renewed, appeals to the Nineteenth Judicial District Court.