Three Rhode Island nail salons and their owner being sued by the Department of Labor
PROVIDENCE – The U.S. Department of Labor is accusing three nail salons in Rhode Island and their owner of deliberately failing to pay technicians fair wages and of violating their rights through a consistent pattern of “brash conduct and callous indifference” to the law.
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and the department sued Steven Xingri Cao, president and owner of the three nail salons named in the complaint, alleging fair wage violations and retaliation against employees who exercised their rights under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Owner accused of wage violations and retaliation
The salons named in the suit are New VIP Nail Spa, Inc., doing business as VIP Nails & Spa, at 545 Main Street, East Greenwich; VIP Neo Nails, Inc., operating as VIP Nails & Spa at 1401 Douglas Avenue, North Providence; and VIP Spa & Nails, Inc., and its successor VIP Emerald Nails, Inc. doing business at VIP Nails & Spa at 2 Mendon Road, Cumberland.
The lawsuit seeks back wages and damages and implores the court to permanently enjoin and restrain Cao and the salons from violating fair labor laws and discriminating against employees' protected rights.
A message left for Cao at the North Providence location was not returned Wednesday. Cao controlled and operated the salons with his wife Laura Huazi Li, the complaint says.
According to the suit, Wing Ting Wong began working for Cao as a nail technician in 2016 and her good friend Meixue Lin came on board three years later, with both primarily working at the Cumberland shop.
The salon’s manager, Zhongwan Jin, allegedly began to use chemical disinfectant spray that carried a safety hazard label to sanitize areas without properly diluting it, causing multiple employees to experience stinging in their noses and throats.
Wong, who has asthma, sought medical treatment as a result and warned Cao that she would file an OSHA complaint about the hazardous conditions.
Cao reportedly cast Wong’s messages about pursuing her legal rights as threats and blackmail.
Prison sentences: 4 men who used homeless people in $480k counterfeit check scheme sentenced
Complaint filed with OSHA
On July 23, 2020, Wong filed a complaint with OSHA regarding alleged chemical hazards at the Cumberland store. Cao fired her the next morning.
Cao expressed anger at Wong to other employees and warned against forming cliques in his stores, according to the suit. He referred to Wong as a white-eyed wolf, meaning he considered her to be ungrateful.
In response, the agency asked Cao to investigate the alleged conditions immediately and make any necessary changes. Cao was directed to post a copy of OSHA’s letter describing the alleged hazards in a conspicuous location at the salon.
Cao also informed OSHA that they changed disinfectant brands and developed a written safety protocol for the use of chemicals.
She was homeless and hungry in Liberia: Now, she helps feed those in need with 'One Less Worry'
Wage and hour investigation
The Department then launched a wage and hour investigation to determine if Cao was complying with fair labor laws.
According to the complaint, Cao instructed employees to sign documents detailing false information about the tips they received, their employment history and hours worked. The workers told investigators that they believed they would be fired otherwise.
The agency determined that Cao failed to pay overtime to about 70 employees, instead paying them $5 for additional hours worked, according to the suit. Some were also paid less than minimum wage. The agency found that Cao and the salons failed to keep accurate records and paid some employees cash without documentation.
Damages sought
The government argues punitive damages are warranted due to Cao and the salons’ intentional or reckless disregard for the law and “consistently brash conduct and callous indifference to employees’ rights under the OSHA Act and fair labor laws."
It asks, too, that Cao and the businesses be held liable for unpaid back wages and overtime compensation, plus equal liquidated damages. It seeks a court order demanding that Wong be reinstated or be provided with front pay and given a neutral letter of reference.
Offering help: Overdoses. Housing insecurity. Mental health crises. At the center of it all? The library.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Feds accuse three RI nail salons of wage, labor violations
