An experienced barber or cosmetologist license defense attorney at Bertolino LLP can represent your interests in any proceedings before the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation (TDLR). We can review the licensure issues that your case involves and work to develop strategies to resolve those issues most effectively. Whether you are facing licensure issues or disciplinary proceedings, you will benefit from the services of an barber or cosmetologist license defense lawyer to protect your career. We can provide strong legal counsel to assist you throughout your licensure or disciplinary matter.
TDLR has established an individualized enforcement plan for the various occupations it licenses and regulates, including barbers and cosmetologists. Each occupational enforcement plan contains a matrix of rule violations and a corresponding range of sanctions. Barbers and cosmetologists have a consolidated enforcement plan that covers all aspects of both occupations.
Violations of rules or laws resulting in disciplinary proceedings and potential sanctions for barbers and cosmetologists are placed into Classes A through D in order of increasing severity. The ranges for sanctions for each class of violations are as follows:
Class A Violations – $500 to $1,500 in fines
Class B Violations – $1,000 to $3,500 in fines and/or up to one-year full suspension
Class C Violations – $2,000 to $5,000 in fines and/or revocation
Class D Violations – $3,500 to $5,000 in fines and/or revocation
Types of Violations in Each Class
Each class contains a range of violations, some of which are general to functions common to barbers and cosmetologists and some of which are specific to one occupation or another. Still, other violations are specific to a subset of one occupation, such as those relating only to estheticians or individuals performing hair-weaving services.
Class A violations include administrative violations, posting and public information violations, minor facility and equipment violations, and minor sanitation violations.
Class B violations include additional administrative, licensure, advertising, facility, equipment, and recordkeeping violations regarding foot spas, foot basins, and spa liners. Class B violations also include sanitation violations, including those specific to hair cutting, styling, treatment, and shaving services, manicure and pedicure services, esthetician, temporary hair removal, eyelash extension application services, and hair weaving.
Class C violations include licensure violations, violations stemming from a failure to cooperate with the TDLR, and public health violations, including those specific to esthetician services, temporary hair removal services, eyelash extension application services, manicure and pedicure services, foot spas, food basins, and spa basins.
Finally, Class D violations, which are the most severe violations with the potential for the gravest penalties, include the following general violations:
- Failing to comply with a previous order of the TDLR;
- Obtaining or attempting to obtain a license by fraud or false representation;
- Falsifying any document submitted to the TDLR;
- Using or providing unauthorized assistance in connection with an examination;
- Failing to pay the TDLR for a dishonored payment; or
- Failing to comply with license renewal requirements.
Class D violations also include infection control violations related to blood and bodily fluids, such as:
- Failing to stop bleeding by applying the appropriate substance with the proper instrument;
- Failing to immediately and/or properly discard the instrument after applying the appropriate substance to an open wound;
- Failing to immediately and properly clean and disinfect a surface area that came into contact with blood or bodily fluids;
- Failing to immediately and properly clean and disinfect by approved method a non-porous instrument that came into contact with blood or bodily fluids; or
- Failing to immediately double-bag and discard in a closed trash container or biohazard box a porous instrument that came into contact with blood or body fluids.
Other infection control violations that fall under Class D, but that are unrelated to blood and bodily fluids include the following:
- Working while knowingly suffering from an infection or animal parasites or an infectious/communicable disease for which the person is not entitled to protection under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA);
- Knowingly employing a person with an infectious/contagious disease who is not entitled to protection under the ADA;
- Engaging in gross malpractice; or
- Performing services on a client the licensee has reason to believe has a contagious condition such as head lice, nits, ringworm, conjunctivitis; inflamed, infected, broken, raised, or swollen skin or nail tissue, or an open wound or sore in the area to be service.
Purpose of the TDLR Enforcement Plan
Generally, TDLR prosecutors must pursue sanctions within the ranges listed for each “class” of violation listed within the enforcement plan. However, TDLR prosecutors are not bound by the plan, so in exceptional circumstances, they may get permission from the TDLR Director of Enforcement to pursue a sanction or penalty outside the enforcement plan. Likewise, state law does not bind TDLR to the plan, so they may deviate from the plan if circumstances warrant when acting as the final decisionmaker in contested cases.
Other Factors to Consider in Determining the Sanction
Each of the four classes lists a range of sanctions that the TDLR may assess for the violations in each class. In determining which sanction is appropriate for a particular situation, the TDLR must consider the following factors:
- The severity or seriousness of the violation;
- Whether the violation was willful or intentional;
- Whether the respondent acted in good faith to avoid or mitigate the violation or to correct the violation after it became apparent;
- Whether the respondent has engaged in similar violations in the past;
- The level of penalty or sanction necessary to deter future violations; and
- Any other matter that justice may require.
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Rely on Bertolino, LLP, to Defend Your Barber or Cosmetologist License
You need an experienced professional license defense lawyer to represent you if you are having difficulties obtaining a license or when you receive a complaint that could adversely impact your license. We recognize the high stakes of these proceedings and what they could mean for your career. We will tirelessly defend you against the licensure or disciplinary proceedings you are facing and work tirelessly to advance your interests. Contact Bertolino LLP today at (512) 980-3751 or visit us online.
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