A DMV for barbering? Not here

Hair-cutter finds it isn’t just a matter of transferring license

Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Steve Marcus

Vernon Williamson is interviewed Tuesday at the Las Vegas Sun. Following struggles with the state barber licensing board, Williamson is on a mission to simplify the process.

Nevada Barber's Health and Sanitation Board

All Vernon Williamson wanted to do was what he’s done, off and on, for the past 46 years. He wanted to be a barber.

The semiretired septuagenarian has shaved faces and cut hair in Missouri and California. He says he wants a little work on the side now that he’s in Nevada. He figured it would just be a simple matter of transferring his California license.

He was wrong.

Nevada doesn’t allow out-of-state barbers to transfer their licenses here, a procedure known as reciprocity, because it’s usually done along the lines of, “If you trust our barbers, we’ll trust your barbers.”

No trusting here. In Nevada, barbers must provide their records and then apply and take tests for a new license.

Because the California barber board can be difficult to contact, Williamson drove from Las Vegas to Sacramento to pick up copies of his records and to get a letter saying he was a barber in good standing. Then, Williamson said, the Nevada board wanted letters from co-workers.

“I had a letter saying they had known me to be a barber for 20 years and the board said, no, they only wanted someone who knew me for the last five years,” Williamson said.

Frustrated, Williamson has taken on barber reciprocity as his mission. He’s written to State Treasurer Kate Marshall, state Senator Steven Horsford (D-Las Vegas), Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Gov. Jim Gibbons, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama.

(Incidentally, Williamson said the only two people who didn’t write back to him were Gibbons and Reid. “I could see if they got lots of letters every day,” Williamson said, “but this is an important matter.”)

So far, Williamson has been unable to persuade anyone to take up his cause.

How common is it for states to grant reciprocal licenses for out-of-state barbers, the way new Nevadans can easily trade in their old driver’s licenses for new ones? About half do, according to Charles Kirkpatrick, executive officer of the National Association of Barber Boards of America. Kirkpatrick is in favor of it, but he said that for the system to work, it has to be easy to contact other state’s barber boards to check applicants. One problem Nevada might have is that California’s barber board is notoriously bad at answering its phone.

Still, Kirkpatrick said, “I’ve been a barber for a lot of years and these days we can move around a lot more than we used to.”

We called up the Las Vegas office of the Nevada State Barber’s Health and Sanitation Board and asked the board’s secretary and treasurer, Eloy Maestas, why Nevada doesn’t offer reciprocity for out-of-state barbers.

“Because we don’t, that’s just why,” Maestas said.

Under coaxing, Maestas elaborated: The board sees a lot of barbers from other states who aren’t adept enough with their straight razors or conscientious enough about cleaning up from the inevitable nicks and cuts or cleaning their razors between customers. The chief concern are blood-borne illnesses such as hepatitis, HIV and drug-resistant strains of staph.

“There’s really no difference between a straight razor and a hypodermic needle,” Maestas said.

Another roadblock to reciprocity might be that communication among state licensing boards isn’t, well, reciprocal. Or easy.

Consider our experience with Maestas: He said he would call us back later in the day with further details on barber licensing. He didn’t. Nor could we get the Las Vegas office of the barber board to answer its phone or return our repeated calls.

For two weeks.

Discussion: 8 comments so far…

By KillerB

10/30/09 at 8:24 a.m.

Suggest removal

"Consider our experience with Maestas: He said he would call us back later in the day with further details on barber licensing. He didn't. Nor could we get the Las Vegas office of the barber board to answer its phone or return our repeated calls.

"For two weeks."

They didn't call back because they don't have to. By the way, the barber board's office is in the back of Maestas' barber shop just off Boulder Highway and Flamingo.

The threshold point should not be lost on any thinking citizen -- why does this man need ANYONE's permission to cut my hair or give me a straight shave?? If he hangs out his candy cane, makes it known to the general public he has a chair and no waiting, how does that become government business?

Anyone else notice how most, if not all, legislatures in this country, from Congress all the way down to the local municipal level, are busily tightening their noose around ALL our necks by requiring we be licensed for more and more of what we do? A rural friend told me how some kids on his road put up a fresh produce stand to sell their big garden's bounty. The county shut them down with threats of big fines because they lacked a permit, a license, bonding and insurance.

This is exactly what's wrong with America.
By guns4hire

10/30/09 at 8:28 a.m.

Suggest removal

More papers More papers

Goberment workers need more goberment workers to pile more paper on their desks

real jobs created by real printing presses
the story of bumama political cyclic machine
By wizardofOz

10/30/09 at 8:48 a.m.

Suggest removal

Nevada won't allow professional reciprocity on Barbering,

BUT

It will allow illegal aliens to collect welfare, become well educated for free, get free medical, it will look the other way when the Governor hides his illegal alien nanny in the basement, and it will allow illegal aliens to transfer their illicit money earned in Nevada, out of Nevada, back to their home country.

Hey Maestas, who's really getting "nicked" here and having the "blood" drained out of them...?
By NLV-Indep13

10/30/09 at 9:14 a.m.

Suggest removal

Government over-regulation. I can understand hygienic concerns, but I think passing a simple written test and a requirement to prominently post hygiene concerns in their place of business would adequately protect the consumer.

Also, does the "Nevada State Barber's Health and Sanitation Board" recieve any funding from the state?
By CityCenterGirl

10/30/09 at 10:12 a.m.

Suggest removal

Don't give up Mr. Williamson - If you ask me it's all BS and I'm behind you 100%
By James_P_Reza

10/30/09 at 10:45 a.m.

Suggest removal

Board oversight of providers of personal services is a good thing IF it promotes and ensures a high level of professionalism and training in order to protect the public.

Unfortunately, despite the existence of the Nevada State Barber's Health & Sanitation Board and the Nevada State Board of Cosmetology, there are still quite a few licensed practitioners standing behind chairs who possess minimum skill and practice without professionalism. This creates concerns for the health and safety of those who visit the establishments (and there are a lot of serious health and safety concerns associated with this industry). For instance, the majority of Nevada practitioners are "independent contractors" - have you ever wondered how many of them carry business or liability insurance, since it is not required? What happens if something goes wrong with that razor?

Mr. Williamson's 20 years of experience probably makes him an excellent barber, and the state should be happy to have him. That said, there's nothing wrong with asking him to take a written exam to exhibit his knowledge of health and safety issues. With his experience, he should be able to pass Nevada's tests quite easily.
By barberjon

10/31/09 at 9:19 p.m.

Suggest removal

I had the same problem with the State Board of Barbers just a few years ago. Unfortunately, you're dealing with the "good ol' boys" network and good luck getting anything changed. A common answer to most situations is "because, that's the way we've always done it" or "we had to do it so you have to do it". They're enforcing a bunch of old outdated laws and regulations that were written back in 1929.

The State Board consists of only four (4) people. One is a "state health officer" whose name doesn't appear anywhere and he has nothing to do with licensing. The other three members are all licensed barbers and barber shop owners. They are not only your competition, but they get to decide who gets a license and who doesn't.

Imagine if we had a "Fast Food State Board", and if I wanted to open a fast food restaurant I could only do it with the approval of the owners of McDonalds, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. That would never fly!!

Nevada Cosmetology has reciprocity. "Reciprocity" is a mutual agreement between two states. "Endorsement" refers to accepting a person's license from another jurisdiction by showing proof of reasonably equivalent licensing, experience and training. The Nevada barber board should accept out of state licenses through "endorsement" not "reciprocity".

Some of the policies the Nevada Barber Board is enforcing aren't even in writing and I was told at one time that they would "work with me" (wink . . .wink). The Nevada State Barber Board is not the solution to the problems. They are the problem!

What the barbers and the Barber Board in Nevada don't understand is that to deny out-of-state barbers from getting a license in Nevada by endorsement, they are weakening the barber trade in the state. They are forcing more male clients to go to beauty salons and "chop shops" instead of patronizing barbershops. The fact is, the larger the number of Barbers in the state, the stronger the industry will be.

I was also told by the state board that California barbers are not trained as well as Nevada barbers. Well, since there are no "barber schools" anywhere in the state of Nevada, most Nevada barbers that I know attended barber school in California.

I took my situation with documented proof in hand all the way to the state legislature but the legislature sided with the State Board. The bottom line is that the Nevada Barber Board is corrupt, but apparently the good ol' boys in Nevada like it that way. So, good luck getting anything changed.

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