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Minnesota Hairbraiding
Anderson v. Minnesota Board of Barber and Cosmetologist Examiners
Minnesota Chapter Untangles Regulations for African Hair braiders
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IJ Client Lillian Anderson.
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To practice their craft, African hairbraiders in Minnesota must enroll in 1,550 hours of government-mandated “training” that does not include even one hour of instruction in braiding. They must also take State-mandated examinations that do not test for braiding skills. Any braider who refuses to secure a government license can face up to $1,000 in fines and up to 90 days in jail.
Minnesota’s bureaucrats leave African hairbraiders like Lillian Anderson from Minneapolis with three choices: get licensed (costing nearly $15,000 in tuition and requiring at least 10 months of schooling and forgone earnings); quit braiding hair altogether; or operate illegally.
Lillian and two other braiders chose a fourth option: joining with the Institute for Justice Minnesota Chapter (IJ-MN) to fight these arbitrary and irrational laws. Their civil rights lawsuit challenged Minnesota’s hairbraiding licensing scheme as a violation of the braiders’ due process, privileges or immunities, and equal protection guarantees provided by the Minnesota Constitution and the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Anderson v. Minnesota Board of Barber and Cosmetologist Examiners was resolved by court order on June 10, 2005. The Board was permanently enjoined from enforcing its cosmetology licensing regime against hairbraiders and it was also required to publish administrative rules that exempt hairbraiders from regulation. On May 15th, 2006, the Board officially adopted new rules that free hairbraiders from State licensing requirements.
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