Murphy Rejects Conservative-Backed Bill To Aid Immigrant Hair Braiders

A conservative push to deregulate the hair braiding industry in New Jersey for mostly African immigrants hit a snag Monday when Gov. Phil Murphy rejected a bill that was unanimously approved in both houses of the legislature.

State regulations mandate that hair braiders take 1,200 hours of cosmetology classes which can cost as much as $17,000. As the West African immigrant women who do this work explained to WNYC in July, the financial and time burden forces some workers to operate without licenses, subjecting them to extortion by gangs and scams by customers.

So the immigrant women teamed up with Americans For Prosperity, a conservative group affiliated with the Koch brothers, to deregulate the industry and scrap the cosmetology school requirement. It passed both the Assembly and state Senate.

But on Monday, Murphy conditionally vetoed the bill, saying African hair braiders should be required to take between 40 and 50 hours of classes in order to protect the safety of the customers.

Americans For Prosperity blasted Murphy's decision and urged the legislature to override the conditional veto instead of accepting his proposed changes to the bill.

"Gov. Murphy is so disconnected from the hair braiding community in New Jersey it would be impossible to untangle a single comprehensive reason for vetoing this effort," said Erica Jedynak, director of the group's New Jersey chapter. "This veto is nothing short of heartless because it forces New Jersey hair braiders to keep the doors to their businesses and communities shuttered."