IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Maimouna Thiam t/d/b/a : Rama Hair Braiding Salon, : Petitioner : : v. : No. 301 C.D. 2022 : Argued: April 3, 2023 Bureau of Professional and : Occupational Affairs, State : Board of Cosmetology, : Respondent : BEFORE: HONORABLE RENÉE COHN JUBELIRER, President Judge HONORABLE CHRISTINE FIZZANO CANNON, Judge HONORABLE STACY WALLACE, Judge OPINION NOT REPORTED MEMORANDUM OPINION BY PRESIDENT JUDGE COHN JUBELIRER FILED: July 25, 2023 Maimouna Thiam t/d/b/a Rama Hair Braiding Salon (Petitioner or the Salon) petitions for review of the Final Adjudication and Order (Final Order) of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (Bureau), State Board of Cosmetology (Board), issued on March 8, 2022, ordering Petitioner to cease and desist from the unlicensed practice of cosmetology including natural hair braiding and levying a civil penalty against Petitioner in the amount of $1,500.00. On appeal, Petitioner argues that Section 5 of the statute commonly known as the Beauty Culture Law (the Law),1 which requires a limited license to engage in the commercial practice of natural hair braiding, violates Petitioner’s due process rights under article I, section 1 1 Act of May 3, 1933, P.L. 242, as amended, 63 P.S. § 511. of the Pennsylvania Constitution, PA. CONST. art. I, § 1.2 Following our review, we reverse. I. BACKGROUND Petitioner, a single parent of six children, emigrated from Senegal to the United States in 1993. Although she is taking English classes, Petitioner speaks Wolof and French, and she reads very little English. (Findings of Fact (FOF) ¶¶ 5- 6.)3 When she was a teenager, Petitioner learned from her mother how to braid hair using a methodology requiring no chemicals or hot iron, only the use of her hands. (Id. ¶¶ 3, 7-8.) In 1993, Petitioner “earned a certificate in hairdressing and cosmetology from Wilfred Academy of Hair and Beauty Culture in New York,” and she “obtained a license to practice as a hair braider in Florida” in 2014. (Id. ¶¶ 10- 11.) Prior to 2011, Petitioner purchased the Salon in Philadelphia where she had worked as a natural hair braider for many years. (Id. ¶ 9.) In 2014, Petitioner attempted to complete the educational requirements for a cosmetology degree. (Petitioner’s Answer to Order to Show Cause and Request for Hearing (Answer) ¶ 4, Certified Record (C.R.) Item 4.)4 She enrolled in a 150-hour program at Divine, a cosmetology school in Philadelphia, but because the course was taught in English, Petitioner had difficulty understanding the instructors and had to use computer 2 Article I, section 1 states: “All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their own happiness.” PA. CONST. art. I, § 1. 3 The Findings of Fact are set forth in the Proposed Adjudication and Order, which can be found as Item 15 in the Certified Record (C.R.). In its Final …
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