The Utah Legislature's Labor Commission is actively pursuing a bill to drastically cut the required training hours for obtaining a barbering license to just 130 hours.
Show Up! Speak Up!
Business and Labor Committee - Wednesday, November 20th, 1:15 pm - Senate Building Room 120
There will be time allotted for public comment before they vote.
NOTE: The vote in this meeting is NOT the final vote on this bill.
Legislators may continue to change, update, and amend the bill until final vote during the legislative session.
Legislative Session - January 21st - March 7th, 2025
From Utah Legislature's Labor Commission
*
From Utah Legislature's Labor Commission *
Behind closed doors, The Utah Legislature's Labor Commission is drafting a bill that proposes significantly reducing the mandatory training hours required to obtain a barbering license to just 130 hours. This is not a typo; a barber's license requirement in Utah could be as low as One Hundred Thirty Hours. The proposed bill from the Office of Professional Licensing Review (OPLR) suggests lowering the licensure requirements to 130 hours for barbers and 600 for cosmetologists.
Currently, 1000 hours of training is required.
Here is a brief overview of what is going on.
It's essential to recognize that the proposed licensure focuses primarily on health and safety. As Jeff Shumway, the director of OPLR, stated to the Labor Commission during his recommendations in October, "Licensing is not really about the quality of the haircut that's being provided. It's about the safety of the haircut being provided." He emphasized that the state's responsibility lies in regulating safety, leaving the quality of services to market forces.
The proposed scope of the licensure includes several key points:
Public Safety: Shumway noted that students in Utah are often overtrained in low-risk services while inadequately prepared for high-risk ones. To address this, he recommends requiring a minimum number of hands-on repetitions for each service.
Consumer Transparency: OPLR has proposed a new licensing structure introducing separate "micro-licenses" for each specialty. These can be combined to form traditional overarching (cosmetology) licenses, such as master esthetics or cosmetology, with barbering classified as a micro-license.
Barriers to Entry: The state review office advocates for legislation ensuring a minimum licensing safety standard. Shumway stated, "We want to make sure that students or licensees don't have to spend any more time or money than necessary to reach that consumer safety level," comparing the regulations in the food industry. For instance, a chef needs a food safety certification, which does not dictate their skill level. OPLR believes this new micro-license structure will be more cost-effective and allow practitioners to specialize initially before expanding their skills.
Furthermore, Shumway highlighted that it is not the state's role to legislate skill; instead, it should focus on regulating safety. You understand that these proposed changes could unintentionally exclude qualified individuals from being successful behind the chair, making securing opportunities more challenging for professionals relocating from other states.
Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Highland, has expressed that the House is motivated to reduce the required hours for these certifications significantly. He views Shumway's recommendations as a reasonable compromise, acknowledging that "if left unchecked, legislators might have made even deeper cuts."
Here are some links for more information.
Current Reviews - oplr.utah.gov
Beauty industry licensing restructure could affect over 60,000 workers statewide | KSL.com
Don’t Let Our Standards Fall: How Reduced Barber Training Risks Your Health and Hurts Small Businesses
Why Reducing Barber Licensing Hours is Harmful to Utah:
Lowering the required training hours for a barber's license may seem easy to reduce costs, but it would harm the industry, endanger public health, and compromise service quality. Here's why maintaining essential barber training is crucial:
Ensuring Public Health and Safety
Infection and Injury Risks: Barbers work with sharp tools that, if not properly sanitized, can spread infections like MRSA. Adequate training ensures barbers follow strict hygiene and disinfection protocols to protect clients from serious health risks.
Safe Tool Handling: Minimal training means less practice handling sharp tools, increasing the risk of accidents and injuries for clients and barbers alike.
Protecting Quality of Service for the Public
Validation of Skilled Workmanship: Clients expect a fully trained professional who can deliver consistent, high-quality haircuts. With minimal safety and skill training, "micro-licensed" barbers would struggle to meet these standards, leaving clients with poor-quality cuts and an inconsistent experience.
False Sense of Security: Customers assume they receive services from a thoroughly trained barber. Lowering licensing requirements misleads the public, exposing them to a lower standard of care without their knowledge.
Safeguarding Economic Opportunity and Quality Standards
Loss of Financial Aid: Programs shorter than 600 hours are ineligible for federal financial aid, limiting the ability of many aspiring barbers to afford proper training. This could lead to a potential loss of talent in the industry, as those who cannot afford the training may choose to pursue other careers, thereby reducing the industry's overall quality.
Reduced Earning Potential and Competitiveness: "Micro-licensed" barbers lack the skill to compete with fully trained barbers, limiting their earnings and dragging down overall industry standards.
Increased Burden on Business Owners: Without complete training, shop owners would need to dedicate time and resources to training under-prepared staff, adding strain to small businesses that rely on well-trained barbers.
Reducing Job Mobility and Professional Recognition
Interstate Licensing Barriers: No state accepts barbering licenses with fewer than 800 hours of training. A license with only 130 hours limits a barber's job mobility and reduces economic opportunities in other states.
Devaluation of Existing Licenses: Lowering training standards devalues current licenses, undermining the investment that existing barbers have made in their education and professional development.
Preserving a Historic, Specialized Profession
Unique Skillset and Tradition: With over 2,000 years of history, barbering is a distinct field from cosmetology. Reducing training hours erodes this history and the unique skills that separate barbers from other fields. Preserving this tradition and the specialized skills that make barbering a distinctive and respected profession is essential.
Industry Integrity and Job Security: The barbering industry includes thousands of self-employed, highly trained professionals who are deeply invested in their work and communities. Licensing requirements are crucial in maintaining the industry's integrity and ensuring job security for these professionals. Lowering standards threatens their livelihoods and weakens the industry's stability. In summary, maintaining high barber training standards is essential for public health, service quality, and the integrity of the profession. Reducing these requirements would put the public at risk, diminish service quality, and harm barbers who rely on their skills for a stable livelihood.
