We need to hold the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology accountable for allowing an examiner, Ms. Allen, to administer exams without a license, starting at the beginning of 2018.

As a licensing agency, our mission is or at least should be, to protect the public and to uphold the standards of licensing and the administration of fair exams.

According to the State Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, “examiners are required to complete a minimum of 1200 hours for Barbering and 1600 hours for Cosmetology while in school.” We must then successfully take and pass the state exam for licensure. According to Cosmetology Examiner 1 job classifications, “in order to administrator exams; The State Board Examiners are required to possess a license, have at least one year of experience in teaching or working in the field.”

There are penalties related to one falsifying the application. *If it is discovered that I have made any false representations after being appointed to a position, I may have adverse action taken against me, which could result in dismissal.

A lawsuit/ complaint was filed against the Board in connection with Mrs. Allen for administering an unfair examination to a barber candidate.

Several years ago an examiner, (Nena Mohammad), lost her job for merely forgetting to renew her license. *Currently, there are persons, namely, Ms. Allen, who are performing the duties of this position without having met the minimum state required standards. This presents a significant risk to the public, the profession, and is frankly, unacceptable and negligent.

We are committed to our passion for upholding the standards for our license.

We ask that you please help us keep the integrity of our licenses and the industry and to consider our request to hold all equally accountable to the same standards, by taking swift action to rectify this mismanagement.

All licensees are requesting that the staff supervisor, Melanie Allen, be removed from her current position at the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology in Glendale, California. Ms. Allen has been unlawfully administering state license exams without the possession of a license in the field of Barbering and Cosmetology. This is a violation of BPC Law 7320.3 and BPC 7320.4 BPC 7349.1.

We also ask that all examinations that were administered by the non-licensed examiner be retaken or refunded with an interest in protecting the public.

We ask that all fines imposed on Cosmetologists and Barbers for non-licensure, during Ms. Allen’s tenure, be refunded since the state themselves, were administering exams illegally and unethically during this time period.

We ask that all adverse action taken against the role of a licensee for the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, be revisited and be more equitably investigated. The statistics for unlicensed fines enforcements have doubled since the employment of Mrs. Allen.

There have been numerous complaints raised about the non-licensees’ decisions, lack of education on related topics and her integrity. These complaints were filed with the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology in Sacramento, Ca. by examiners, candidates, and consumers alike, but have been unfortunately ignored.

We are requesting an audit be spearheaded to investigate how Ms. Allen qualified for a state position, that requires a license. There are several examiners that have applied for the supervisor position, that qualify for the position, but the list was circumvented, preventing promotion of licensed individuals while others have been granted unfair opportunities, without meeting the minimum state mandated requirements. This is unjust.

There have also been several school closures under the employment of Ms.Allen, for selling licenses, however this is unethical and must be addressed and rectified, provided these closures were executed under an unqualified lisensee. The clear oversight of these matters speaks to the lack of morale currently experienced, and begs to question the integrity of all involved.

We are committed to our passion for upholding the standards for our license.

We ask that you please help us to keep the integrity of our industry and consider our request to address this inequity appropriately and immediately.