Harry Brooks

For the North County Times

A new state law demanding gender equality in basic prices for drying cleaning, tailoring and hair styling is expected to save women in California an average $300 to $400, says the sponsor of the legislation that will take effect Jan. 1.

State Assemblywoman Hannah Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, said in an interview last week that she introduced Assembly Bill 1088 in February after becoming disgruntled with a dry cleaning establishment that charged her more for servicing her shirts than those of her husband.

"They charged me $1.50 for each of his, and he wears an extra large.

They charged $3.50 for each of mine, and I wear a small," Jackson recalled of the price difference she paid for cleaning and pressing.

The new law, which was signed into adoption by Gov. Gray Davis last month, will require businesses that offer dry cleaning, laundry, tailoring or hair grooming services to refrain from charging different prices in relation to gender for the same basic services.

Businesses that offer those services will be required to post easily readable price lists in their shops, noting charges for the 15 most common services offered. They also will have to provide customers with a written price lists on request.

Owners will face a civil penalty of $1,000 if they do not conform to the law within 30 days of receiving violation notices from the state.

The new law, however, does not override the owners' ability to make specific pricing exceptions that are allowed in the state's Gender Anti-discrimination Act, which was adopted in 1995.

The exceptions must be based on time or difficulty variables or cost differences for owners for providing services, according to the act.

David Yoon, owner of Poinsettia Cleaners in Carlsbad, and Crystal Wells, who operates two hair salons in Encinitas, said they support the intent of the new law. Both proprietors said meeting the signage requirements will not be a problem.

"I'm a consumer too, and I think there is a need for it," Wells said, noting that she charges men and women customers the same price for the identical hair treatments at her Detour salon and 2nd St. Salon-Hair Color Experts.

"I don't think it's a bad law. Prices should be the same," said Yoon, who, along with his wife, Hyung, opened Poinsettia Cleaners 12 years ago.

Wells said she charged a higher base price for female customers before the Gender Anti-discrimination Act went into effect because women's hair appointments commonly run longer than men's by requiring more functions and detail in cutting and styling.

"For instance, women predominantly want blow drying, men don't, and there is usually more complexity when your working on a woman's hair," said Wells, who opened her 2nd St. Salon in 1983 and the Detour in 1998.

Ironically, Hyung Yoon said she believes the price difference that spurred Jackson into legislative action was justified by the owner.

Jackson said the dry cleaning proprietor told her that the price difference stemmed from the need for hand ironing her shirts because automatic presses are not made to handle small-sized women's garments.

Jackson did not accept the explanation.

Hyung Yoon, who handles ironing and tailoring chores at the dry cleaners she co-owns with her husband, said the price-difference explanation had merit.

"Hand pressing can be really hard, and sometimes there are special creases you have take time to do right," she said while massaging her right shoulder while rotating her right arm like a baseball pitcher working the kinks out.

But being unconvinced that the price difference she paid last fall was warranted, Assemblywoman Jackson made a tour of dry cleaning and hair salons in Santa Barbara and found many charged higher base prices for women in hair grooming or garment-related services.

Jackson then initiated a statewide survey of 50 establishments providing those services, plus tailoring. Two similar studies were conducted by the nonprofit Public Interest Research Groups, commonly known as PIRG.

The California Research Bureau reported that the basic finding of all studies "is that there is some form of gender discrimination in pricing among haircut and dry cleaning services." Divid Yoon and Crystal Wells said they believe the finding may be correct, but not for all businesses in their fields.

"I don't know specifically of any (hair salons) that conduct their pricing that way, but I'm sure it exists," Wells said.

10/7/01