50 Years Later, Hawaii's Law Requiring Professional Licenses Could Be In For An Overhaul

Hunter Wilson is building an impressive resume as a Honolulu barber.

At 27, he manages a sleek new barber shop, The Cutlery, in Kaimuki: a combination bar, restaurant and barber shop. And he’s toured the mainland representing the Dutch product line Reuzel. It’s an auspicious start for a young professional who started his 1,500 hours of training required to be a barber by Hawaii law when he was just 17.

But there’s one thing Wilson doesn’t have: a barber license that he can use in other states. That’s a big difference from locales like Arizona, for instance, which has reciprocity agreements with 28 other states, according to the American Barber Association. And the result is there are certain things Wilson can’t do when he’s on the road, even though he’s licensed in Hawaii.

“I can still cut hair as a demo,” he says. “But I can’t get paid. I can’t do a pop-up.”

And barbers are hardly alone. While more than a dozen other states have made sweeping changes to recognize occupational licenses granted in other states, Hawaii continues to rely on an ad hoc, patchwork approach built up on a law passed almost half a century ago.

Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2021/11/50-years-later-hawaiis-law-requiring-professional-licenses-could-be-in-for-an-overhaul/