2.1 Rights and Responsibilities: Owner and Manager Duties, Required Postings, and Client-Rights Signs

Why this topic matters

Domain X, Rights and Responsibilities, is only 3 percent of the theory test (about 3 questions). Its three subtopics are practical and easy to score:

• A. Salon and shop owner and manager responsibilities
• B. Displaying signs about clients' rights
• C. Responsibility for compliance and for posting rules and licenses

The same material supports questions in Domains IX and XI, so it is worth more than its weight suggests.

Owner and manager responsibilities

T.C.A. § 62-3-111 makes the owner and manager of a shop responsible for ensuring that:

1. Only persons licensed by the Board perform barbering services in the shop
2. Licensed persons perform only the services their licenses authorize. A barber technician, for example, may not do straight razor shaves.
3. The shop and its operation conform to Chapter 3 and the Board's rules

The manager requirement. Under § 62-3-109(c):

• Every licensed shop must designate a manager, meaning a person licensed under Chapter 3 or 4 in at least one discipline the shop offers, whose information is on file with the Board.
• A designated manager is a similarly licensed person who supervises when the manager is absent.
• It is unlawful to operate a shop unless it is, at all times, under the direction of a manager or designated manager. Whoever is on duty is responsible for compliance.
• A manager may supervise workers in other disciplines, for example cosmetologists in a dual shop, but may practice only within the manager's own license.

Being on the premises. Board Rule 0200-03-.14 adds:

• The manager or designated manager must be on the premises at all times barber-related services are being performed.
• The manager may take two 30-minute periods away during the day if the manager can be reached by phone and can return within 20 minutes when a Board representative, employee, or customer needs the manager.
• The manager's name must be posted, and the manager's registration number must be available to any employee or customer.
• The manager is not relieved of responsibility while away.
• The shop manager must be licensed by the Board in at least one discipline the shop is licensed to offer.

Shared responsibility. Rule 0200-03-.14(1) makes the manager responsible for keeping every part of the shop sanitary and in compliance. It also says this does not relieve any licensee of responsibility for the sanitary condition of the space and equipment that licensee uses. If an inspector finds a dirty station, both the barber at that station and the manager can be cited.

Postings the law requires

Signs that protect clients

Several Tennessee rules require signs that tell clients what to expect or what they may refuse.

• Student work. A barber school must post a sign stating that all barber services are performed by students (Rule 0200-01-.01(1)(l)). Under § 62-3-125, a barber school may not display a barber pole or other sign customarily used by barber shops. It must have a sign with letters at least 5 inches high identifying it as a barber school or college, plus a sign that the work is done by students exclusively.
• Nail drills. The Board's rules for shops, schools, and mobile shops that offer manicuring require a sign stating that the customer has the right not to have drills used on his or her nails (Rules 0440-01-.01, 0440-01-.19(5)(c), and 0440-02-.07(3)). Because manicuring is part of barbering under § 62-3-105, a barber working in a dual or manicure-licensed shop should expect to see this sign.
• Apprentices. Barber apprenticeship students must wear a name tag identifying them as apprentices and naming their school (Rule 0200-01-.02(4)(l)6), so clients know a student is serving them.
• Residential services. A barber working in a client's home must show the residential barber certificate before starting (§ 62-3-135(f)).
• Health conditions. Under Rule 0200-03-.04, a client with open sores, symptoms of an infectious or contagious disease or skin disorder, or parasites may be served only with a physician's written permission. Barbers explain this to the client in private.

Responsibility for compliance in practice

Compliance is shared, and each role has its own duties.

In a 1970 case, Burson v. Moore, the Tennessee Supreme Court said the purpose of the shop-registration section is to make one person answerable to the Board for health and safety in each shop. That idea explains the manager-presence rule.

Inspections and your rights during one

Barber shops and schools are subject to inspection at any time during business hours (§ 62-3-128(b)). Inspectors must be given access to each establishment (Rule 0200-01-.12(1)). The results may be recorded as a grade on the Board's form, which the owner or manager and the inspector sign and which is then posted conspicuously. Refusing access or ignoring a lawful Board order can lead to discipline, and failing to comply with a lawful Board order is a Class B misdemeanor (§ 62-3-130).

Quick self-check

A shop owner leaves for a two-hour lunch, and no designated manager is present while two barbers keep working. Is that allowed? No. The rule allows two 30-minute absences, and only if the manager is reachable and can return within 20 minutes. A two-hour absence with no designated manager means the shop is not under the direction of a manager, which § 62-3-109(c)(3) prohibits.