I’ve got bad news for those of you who recently cut your and your loved ones’ hair, took a look in the mirror and subsequently took to the streets to demand that barber shops and hair salons reopen during a pandemic.
You’re a scofflaw.
Maybe a I’m exaggerating by a hair, but the point is that in California not just any Floyd with a pair of scissors can call himself a barber or hair stylist. Not legally anyway.
In the Golden State, you need a license and 1,500 hours of training before you can wield a straight razor or hair dryer and get paid for it.
Not surprisingly you need a license to legally dispense legal advice and practice law in California. Same goes for being a doctor. You want to help people and do no harm? The state of California has some requirements of you.
Theoretically these professions — and the state — have a vested interest in keeping tabs on its membership.
To earn and keep a public’s trust you want to make sure those who represent your profession — be it hair stylist, lawyer or doctor — adhere to a minimum set of standards and are held accountable when they fall short. Seems reasonable given that people in those jobs, for example, are dealing with health and safety, and legal issues.
Of course there are varying degrees of accountability and what information the public has access to.
Someone is willing to represent you in a domestic dispute? You can visit the state bar website and check out their credentials as well as any disciplinary measures, if any, they have had.
Your neighbor says she can fix your diabetes for $20 and a case of craft beer? You can visit the Medical Board of California website and see if Dr. Neighbor is a legitimate MD and if she has had any disciplinary actions taken against her.
But if you want to check out the disciplinary history of a cop — someone who is empowered with the authority to stop anyone with whom they come in contact — then you have to file a public records request with the employing agency, even though the officer may have started their career elsewhere.
I may be splitting hairs but it seems having one centralized and publicly accessible list of troublesome cops would go a long way in ensuring accountability and trust among the people they serve.
