TDLR enforcement report highlights unlicensed salons and raises penalties in Little Ladies Day Spa case

Morgan, a prosecutor in TDLR's enforcement division, presented the enforcement report and highlighted several items the advisory board discussed.

She described a case involving Little Ladies Day Spa, an unlicensed salon whose owners argued they did not need licensure because their services targeted children. The administrative law judge’s proposal for decision rejected that argument, finding licensure is determined by the service performed, not the client's age; the commission adopted the finding and increased the penalty from $1,000 to $6,000 to reflect the importance of sanitation and public protection.

Morgan also summarized a new case‑prioritization system that ranks complaints by harm risk (level 1 highest, including infections and burns), saying the system helps enforcement focus limited resources on complaints that most affect health and safety. She noted that after the merger of barbering and cosmetology, several complaint categories consolidated and that unlicensed activity and criminal‑history flags were leading reasons cases were opened in recent fiscal data.

Board members asked for a more detailed breakdown of the rise in barber complaints (an increase of 242 complaints was noted). Morgan offered to have a management analyst produce the specific basis for increases and reiterated that the new enforcement plans and criminal history guidelines were published (in the Texas Register) and went into effect in November 2023.

Morgan advised the board that students working in establishments performing regulated services without licenses can be subject to penalties and that enforcement staff review advertisements and online activity as part of investigations.