Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio has decided to investigate nail industry practices. On Friday, the mayor announced that his administration will crackdown on nail salons which are accused of abusing immigrant workers by not giving them minimum wage and forcing them to deal with harmful chemicals.

The announcement on Friday by Bill de Blasio came after two-part series in American daily newspaper The New York Times. According to reports by the newspaper, a number of manicurists in the city have been working for far less than minimum wage. The reports also stated that many manicurists have also been suffering dangerous effects of toxic chemicals.

While talking on the issue, de Blasio said, “We will use all available powers to shield nail salon workers from deplorable conditions, empower them with awareness of their rights, and offer every other support we can to ensure the safety and dignity of our hardworking fellow New Yorkers”.

Earlier on Monday, Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, announced a task to look into nail salons in New York State. Cuomo also said that regulators will soon start an education campaign, which notifies workers about their rights in six different languages. The city has limited control over labor laws. But according to the mayor, the city will do what it can for its people and manicurists.

According to reports, now, volunteers will distribute important information about rights of workers at salons across the five areas during a ‘Day of Action’ next Thursday. In addition, Department of Consumer Affairs will examine the nail products to check whether they could pose any harm to workers.