Issue link: https://www.ahpindiestylist.com/i/1339654
36 indie stylist Volume 2 Issue 1 AHP Legislative Toolkit Want to get involved but don't know where to start? The AHP Legislative Toolkit will help you better understand the rules and regulations that govern your license and give you the tools and resources to make your voice heard. You'll also learn how to stay informed of bills or regulatory changes, find your legislator, and get tips on how you can make your voice matter. associatedhairprofessionals.com/ legislative-toolkit complete alignment among states may not be possible, although more standardization could reinforce best practices. National trends may influence decision makers, but not all trends deserve to be enshrined as legislation unless proven to be effectual, equitable, and enforceable. COLLECTIVE STRENGTH Our progress as an industry depends on innovation and cooperation among a diverse group of individuals, businesses, and associations. Ideally, we'd leverage our collective strength and through our own initiative pursue the following actions: Expand licensing and redefine scopes of practice. Expanded licensing would reflect the results of recent occupational analyses and reduce barriers to licensure. Future professionals, focusing on the particular services they want to provide for compensation, could specialize, obtain the appropriate training and licensing, and enter the workforce quicker. For example, every state should have hair-only licensure rather than requiring a cosmetology license to do hair. For each license type, the scope of practice should use understandable terminology, clarify the services allowed, and distinguish beauty services from the practice of medicine, like treating ingrown toenails or removing skin tags. Eliminate misclassification and protect worker rights. The prevalence of labor and tax violations within our industry points to both a lack of education and enforcement. New professionals would not be as vulnerable to exploitation if states required labor and tax information in the beauty school curriculum. If regulatory agencies did more outreach, fewer professionals would stubbornly cling to their misunderstanding of the rights and responsibilities associated with being a salon owner, employer, employee, and/or booth renter. More enforcement, especially if publicized, would serve as a deterrent to illegal activity and vindication for those who comply. Unfair competition undermines our professionalism; our industry can longer afford to be any part of the underground economy. While our work has implications for client health, we're not health-care workers. We're not essential as defined by the rest of society and our government. Any attempt to pursue such a designation would be futile.