One year after New York Governor Mario Cuomo established a task force to investigate wage and labor violations with nail salons, he has announced that $2 million is owed to about 650 nail techs. The figure includes back pay and damages.

The investigation uncovered employers who were paying their workers less than minimum wage (currently $9 an hour in New York), and who were not compensating for overtime. In some cases, workers had wages deducted for things like gloves and masks, which by New York state law salon employers are required to provide.

To date, 450 nail salons have been tagged for investigation; 383 have been completed, resulting in 143 salons that are required to turn over unpaid wages. Most of those salons are in New York City.

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