1.4 Disciplinary Actions, Board Inspections & Penalties

Inspection Authority

Compliance in Pennsylvania salons and cosmetology schools is monitored by inspectors working for the Department of State's Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation (BEI), which conducts inspections on behalf of the State Board of Cosmetology. Section 13 of the Cosmetology Law grants the Board the powers and duties needed to enforce the act, including inspection of licensed premises.

What an Inspector Checks

An inspection walks straight down 49 Pa. Code Chapter 7. Every item below maps to a numbered regulation you have already studied:

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Act 48 of 1993 and the Schedule of Civil Penalties (49 Pa. Code § 43b.5)

Act 48 of 1993 authorized BPOA licensing boards to publish fixed schedules of civil penalties so that routine, objectively verifiable violations can be resolved by citation rather than a full administrative prosecution. The Pearson VUE handbook lists Act 48 as one of the three sources for the state portion of the examination, so the amounts are fair game.

The cosmetology schedule is published at 49 Pa. Code § 43b.5. Selected entries:

Notice the structural pattern the exam rewards: sanitation lapses tend to run $100 then $250, physical-plant defects run $50 then $100 per violation, and anything touching unlicensed practice starts at $500 and escalates to formal action.

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Penalties Under Section 20 of the Cosmetology Law

Section 20 (63 P.S. § 526) sets out the criminal and civil exposure that sits behind the citation schedule:

Two details the exam likes: the § 20(c.2) civil penalty requires a vote of a majority of the maximum authorized Board membership, or a majority of the qualified and confirmed membership or a minimum of five members, whichever is greater; and under § 20(d), all fines and civil penalties imposed under Section 20 are paid into the Professional Licensure Augmentation Account.

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Statutory Grounds for Disciplinary Action

Section 13 of the Cosmetology Law (63 P.S. § 519) and the related regulations give the Board authority to refuse, suspend, or revoke a license. Grounds recognized in the act and Chapter 7 include:

1. Unlicensed practice and employing unlicensed staff (63 P.S. §§ 508, 519(a); § 7.64(a)).
2. Sanitation and safety violations under §§ 7.91—7.101.
3. Practicing with a communicable disease or knowingly serving an afflicted client (§ 20(b); § 7.97).
4. Fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining a license or in advertising.
5. Criminal convictions — under § 7.98, a licensee who has pled guilty or nolo contendere to, or been convicted of, a felony under The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act (35 P.S. §§ 780-101—780-144) or a similar state or federal law is subject to suspension or revocation under Section 13 of the act.
6. Discrimination — under § 7.66, it is prohibited to refuse, withhold, or deny any accommodation, advantage, facility, or privilege of a salon because of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, or national origin.

Administrative Due Process

When a violation exceeds what a citation can resolve, the Department of State initiates a formal administrative prosecution.

  [ Complaint / Investigation ]
                  |
                  v
      [ Order to Show Cause ] --------> Commonwealth prosecutor files formal charges
                  |
                  v
  [ Formal Administrative Hearing ] ---> Evidentiary hearing before a hearing examiner
                  |                      or the Board; right to counsel, to subpoena
                  |                      witnesses, and to present evidence
                  v
 [ Final Adjudication & Order ] ------> Board issues a binding ruling
                  |
                  v
     [ Commonwealth Court ] -----------> Statutory right of appeal

1. Order to Show Cause. The prosecuting attorney for the Commonwealth files an Order to Show Cause setting out the factual allegations and the legal charges against the respondent licensee.
2. Right to a hearing. Board disciplinary proceedings are governed by 2 Pa.C.S. (administrative law and procedure). The licensee is entitled to notice, representation by counsel, the subpoena of witnesses, and the presentation of evidence. Section 20(c.2) makes this opportunity a precondition to any civil penalty.
3. Final adjudication and order. The Board reviews the record and issues findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a binding order.
4. Judicial appeal. An appeal from a final adjudication of a Commonwealth licensing board lies to the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.

Range of Board Sanctions

• Reprimand — a public censure recorded against the license.
• Probation — continued practice under monitored conditions.
• Civil penalty — up to $1,000 per violation under § 20(c.2), or the fixed amounts in the § 43b.5 schedule for cited violations.
• Suspension — the license is invalid for a fixed period or until stated conditions are met.
• Revocation — the license is terminated. The Cosmetology Law does not publish a fixed waiting period before a revoked licensee may reapply; reinstatement after revocation is decided by the Board on the terms of its own order, so treat any specific waiting period stated in a study aid as unpublished rather than as a rule.

The Two-Track Enforcement Model in One Picture

Second offenses are where the two tracks meet. Read the § 43b.5 table again and notice how often the second-offense column simply says "formal action" — the schedule itself routes repeat unlicensed-practice violations out of the citation track and into a full prosecution.