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June 2012
Ohio State Board of Cosmetology
1929 Gateway Circle •
Grove City, Ohio 43123
Local: (614) 466-3834 •
Statewide: 1-866-642-6723
http://cos.ohio.gov
Yes, it is almost that time of the year to start thinking about an planning for our bi-annual renewal of licensure for your State Board license.
The law requires that each licensed professional in Ohio renew their license every two years, by the 31st of January of odd numbered years. Thus, here are the renewal dates set by The Board:
In the immediate past, The Board has sent out your renewal notice in the Summer. Upon further review, we feel that this may have been too early, and so we are condensing the renewal period from November 1, 2012 - January 31, 2013.
We will have much more detailed information in subsequent editions of The Stylist but here are some important tips and reminders to consider:
1. Renewal is most convenient for you online. State Board suggests that you submit your renewal early enough to avoid hassles associated with late renewal requests, so please consider renewing when you receive your renewal notice, in the first week of November.
2. For those of you who are procrastinators, know that OSBC does not control the technology to take credit cards over renewal portal. If you attempt to access the portal at 11:45 p.m. on January 31, 2013, it is possible that your transaction will not process until February 1, 2013, which would make your transaction late, and subject to a monetary fine. Please realize that the earlier you renew, the less you have to worry about anything.
3. The Board offices in Grove City will have computer terminals set up for you to renew at the Board Office. We do urge you to renew from home or work, as it is much easier for you to do so, and hassle free.
4. Please pay very close attention to your renewal form that will be mailed to you in late October. It will contain your confidential password renewal information. If you lose this, you will not be able to renew online, and it will cause a major inconvenience. Do yourself a favor, and renew when you receive your renewal notice, and you will not have to worry about anything.
5. OSBC Offices are flooded with tens of thousands of phone calls in the months leading up to renewal deadline. We estimate that virtually 80% of the calls are relative to people who have lost their password information for renewal. To accommodate you better, we will be announcing an online email system to answer these questions. Please keep in mind that a handful of people work in the office, and cannot answer all of these inquiries in a timely basis. The email system will be a service to you, and you will have a phone system that will prompt you, so please listen carefully if you happen to call in, and realize that between November, 2012 - February, 2013, our customer service will be a little more difficult because of call volume.
6. Please make sure that your address is current. It is your responsibility to inform the Board of your accurate home address, so please take a moment to do so, so that you can receive timely information, and your license.
7. Do not wait too long to obtain your Continuing Education hours, either in person or online. These are valuable to you as a professional in our state, and sometimes classes sell out if you wait too long.
In the coming months, we will have more information to make this process as easy as possible. We are here to serve you, and appreciate your cooperation and understanding. We also are here for you, so if you have suggestions as to how to improve the process, please let us know at: OhioCos@cos.state.oh.us . We want your experience to be a pleasure, as we enjoy pleasing you.
Ohio House Bill 453 sponsored by Rep. Cheryl Grossman (R-23) of Grove City, the House Assistant Majority Whip, passed the Ohio House by a 92-4 vote in May, and now heads to The Ohio Senate for consideration.
The bill has been assigned to the Senate State Government Committee, chaired by State Senator Kris Jordan (R-19) of Delaware. No hearings are scheduled for the bill, and The Senate will be out of session until late in The Fall, so we do not expect action on the bill until that time.
Several provisions were changed in The House, under the leadership of Rep. Ron Maag (R-35) of Lebanon. These changes were made:
1. The fee structure for licensing will remain the same as it was under current law, which means to say that The Board cannot raise fees unless The General Assembly acts to do so. The Board had and has no plans to raise fees, but this provision was stricken to show Governor Kasich and The General Assembly's commitment to keeping licenses and fees as the lowest in the country. The Board agrees, and so current law will remain.
2. The Board must report to The Governor and General Assembly every year the amount of hair braiders and Threaders who are licensed under the bill. The Board already reports its licensed professionals in an annual report to The Governor, and supported this amendment.
3. Schools may use "Ability To Benefit" also known as wonderlick tests to test the proficiency of students in lieu of a high school diploma.
We welcome your feedback and ideas, and you are urged to contact your State Senator if you have additional ideas surrounding Ohio Cosmetology laws.
A few reminders that sometimes are overlooked in the salon. The first is leather scissor cases. Ohio laws requires that you do not keep your scissors in a leather case or scissor storage belt while you are working. These types of cases cannot be disinfected and the implements are being contaminated each time they are put in them. The cases can be used to store scissors when you are not working. While working, your cutting implements need to be disinfected after each use and stored in a container that is disinfected, or drawer with only disinfected items.
Next are neck dusters being used without being disinfected. A neck duster can only be used if it is washed and disinfected after each use. Most people do not do this and you are putting your customer at risk by using a contaminated neck duster. An alternative would be a towel that can be washed after each use.
An item often neglected in the salon is the metal clipper blades. The blades come in very close contact with the client and can spread communicable bacteria if not properly disinfected after each use. There are many products on the market designed to clean and disinfect clipper blades. The removable guard is washed in soap and water and immersed in a disinfectant, and store with disinfected items.
These items of sanitation fall under:
General Sanitation O.A.C.4713-15-1 The entire licensed facility, must be continually maintained in a sanitary manner satisfactory to the board. All equipment, employees and implements contained there in.
Unlicensed Persons and Unlicensed Salons constitute a problem to the public, and an unfair advantage to legitimate licensed professionals in Ohio. Our Inspectors and our Board Investigator, Ann Marie Zarella-Lydic are working hard to make sure we follow up on complaints and concerns arising from these facilities. We take licensure seriously, and know that you do.
Currently, The Board has filed charges in two Municipal Courts in North East Ohio prosecuting two individuals; one whom was operating an unlicensed nail salon from her home, and is not a licensed manicurist and a licensee who was working with an escrowed license and her store front nail salon is also unlicensed.
Licensure means something in our state. It is the highest of standards, it is compliance with educational requirements, health, safety, and sanitation. It is about protecting the public. We don't carry badges, but we are charged with enforcing the law, and we wanted you to know that your State Board is looking out for your safety and the best interests of the public.
Ohio's policy makers are aggressively combating the scourge of human trafficking, and State Board is also prioritizing the fight against modern day slavery on many fronts. With the passage of Board Resolution 2012-0007 at its April Board Meeting, Board Members are asking salons and facilities in Ohio to display a specially designed poster in their places of business to raise awareness of this important issue.
In the middle of this month's and next month's issues of the Stylist, OSBC has provided a poster that we are asking to be prominently displayed in your salon. The Board Resolution officially requests that each licensed facility in Ohio remove the center spread of the May or June 2012 Ohio Stylist and place the poster inside of your salon.
State Board unanimously voted to ask Ohio salons to display the poster, as part of its duty to protect the public. Every year, an estimated 1,000 Ohioans are believed to be put into human slavery in many types of situations, including salon work. Additionally, people are smuggled in from throughout the world to work in Ohio, illegally, but OSBC is asking Ohio's salon and patron community to be the eyes and ears of decency and to look out for this, and to report anything that is suspicious to authorities, as outlined in the poster.
Patrons, co-workers, licensees, and competitors all can be the vanguard of the defense of human trafficking. It is well known that an educated public and industry can help to defeat this type of crime. Patrons having services performed by people can have the biggest impact on breaking up trafficking rings. Often times, something looks suspicious, but it goes unreported because people do not know where to turn. We want our salons to help educate their clients so that if people do see something suspicious, they will know where to turn to report it.
The posters and public information campaign may soon be authorized under Ohio law. State Representative Theresa Fedor (D-Toledo) has language in H.B. 262 pending before The House of Representatives, that would assure that public information posters are posted in multiple locations, including licensed salons and facilities of the Ohio State Board of Cosmetology. To be proactive, OSBC passed Resolution 2012-0007 to take the lead on this fighting trafficking, the first state agency to do so.
Chairwoman Kim Thomas commented that this was a highly important issue for Ohio's Cosmetologists to band around and educate consumers and industry professionals alike. Board Member Mayor Dee Gillis has been working on behalf of victims of human trafficking for many years as a volunteer for S.O.A.P., one of many Ohio organizations that helps try to locate missing people who are forced into servitude. The Board enthusiastically asks Ohio's licensed community to publicize this important issue and highlight what we should be looking out for, and who to contact if we see it.
State Board is asking for voluntary compliance to distribute and post this informational campaign. Your Inspector will soon be trained on the topic and later this Summer will be speaking with you about human trafficking, our awareness campaign, and how you can help the state to combat human trafficking.
OSBC realizes that virtually all of our licensed facilities are not engaged in the slave trade, but wants to inspire your patrons and professionals to realize that there is a problem, and if something in another salon looks unusual or "just not right" to them, they have an opportunity to call either Attorney General Mike DeWine's Bureau of Criminal Investigation Hotline 1-855-225-6446, or the National Human Trafficking Hotline 1-888-373-7888. Indeed we have an obligation to do good, for we remember the words of the English statesman, Edmund Burke; "The only way for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."
Do 'something' good for humanity by educating your patrons and professionals about human trafficking. Your State Board urges you to join this informational campaign by using the ad in the May and June Stylist (click here) to provide hope for the hopeless and educate the public about this important issue.
To report a potential human-trafficking case, call the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation at 1-855-225-6446, or the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 1-888-373-7888. To print out the flyer, click here.
Ohio State Board of Cosmetology
1929 Gateway Circle
Grove City, Ohio 43123
Local: (614) 466-3834
Statewide: 1-866-642-6723
Fax: (614) 644-6880
E-mail: ohcosbd@cos.state.oh.us
http://cos.ohio.gov
Executive Director: James Trakas
Board Members:
Kimberly Thomas, Chairwoman, Salon Owner
Steve Thompson, Independent Contractor
Valerie J. Benfer, Cosmetologist & Salon Owner
NeCole Cumberlander, School Owner
Dr. Marilyn Huheey, Medical Doctor
Bernadine Neal, Cosmetology Instructor
Delores Gillis, Cosmetologist
Thomas Taneff, General Public
Clara Osterhage, Multiple Salon Owner
