Cosmetology Students Call Aveda Institute ‘Diploma Mill’ in Class Action Lawsuit

A California woman claims that she and other cosmetology students were duped by false job placement rates at the Aveda Institute in Los Angeles.

According to the Aveda class action lawsuit, plaintiff Ashley Mays and others spent thousands to attend the vocational school owned by Nurtur LLC.

However, their hope for a better life after attending the institute was based on false pretenses, including inflated job rates and the quality of the education program, alleges the plaintiff. In addition, the complaint alleges that cosmetology students were treated as an unpaid workforce while Nurtur exploited to service their paying customers.

Nurtur is an Ohio based company that runs Aveda, a beauty company with salons and stores across the nation. A part of Aveda includes its institutes, where students can learn cosmetology, skincare, or massage therapy. According to the complaint, Nurtur’s Aveda Institute Los Angeles is advertised as an elite beauty school where students learn the latest techniques.

“Unfortunately, Nutur failed to live up to expectations because students received little to no instruction,” alleges the Aveda class action lawsuit.

Mays says that she and other cosmetology students in her class were continually disappointed by the instruction offered at the Aveda Institute Los Angeles. She points to one class where her instructor was either absent because of breast augmentation appointments or distracted by online dating websites. Another instructor, says the plaintiff, could not demonstrate any techniques because her arm was in a sling. Instead, students were allegedly forced to learn via YouTube videos or just sat during class time.

The Los Angeles Aveda Institute allegedly functioned as a “diploma mill” for students who received little in the way of real instruction and whose certifications were merely rubber-stamped so they could qualify for the state licensing exam. To add insult to injury, most students paid for attendance through “tax-backed Title IV funds,” points out the cosmetology students’ class action lawsuit. Funds that students are required to pay back, even if they cannot find the jobs advertised by the “supposedly elite beauty school.”

According to the plaintiff, students pay more than $27,000 for Aveda’s cosmetology program and more than $16,000 for its esthetician program.

The complaint contends that, under state and federal law, the Aveda Institute Los Angeles and other post-secondary schools are required to disclose truthful information about post-graduation job placements and education programs to potential students.

The information that cosmetology students at the L.A. Aveda Institute allegedly received was far from the truth, however, leading them to attend and pay more for the education than it was worth.

The class action lawsuit alleges that Nurtur advertises a job placement rate of 60 to 74%; however, the actual rate is more like 38%, with many of those positions being part-time.

According to the Aveda class action lawsuit, Nurtur misled potential students at virtually every opportunity.

Nutur allegedly claims its programs will help students fulfill statutory requirements to obtain their necessary licenses to work in the beauty industry. Additionally, the company promises cutting edge instruction in high tech techniques.

“Nurtur also misleading states that Nurtur is located ‘on the exciting UCLA campus,’ thus suggesting affiliation with UCLA, when in fact the Aveda Institute is a for-profit vocational ‘school’ which, at the time Plaintiff attended, was situated between Jerry’s Famous Deli and Taco Bell,” the class action lawsuit says.

Mays says that she and other students were duped by Nutur’s marketing statements into believing they would receive a top-notch education that would allow them to succeed in the workforce.

However, “the school failed to deliver on even basic statutory requirements,” states the complaint. The plaintiff alleges that Aveda Institute cosmetology students received “little to no technical instruction.” Instead, students spent most of their time on basic operations and routine, menial tasks, claims the class action lawsuit. The plaintiff says that she and other students were required to provide haircuts, facials, hair removal, and other services at no cost, all while customers were paying Nurtur.

“In effect,” states May in her complaint, “Nurtur’s ‘students’ functioned as an unpaid workforce who ran the school and serves Nurtur’s paying customers while receiving no compensation in return.”

The Aveda class action lawsuit seeks to represent Californians who took part in Nurtur’s esthetician or cosmetology programs in the state. The plaintiff is seeking damages, restitution, unpaid wages and overtime, penalties, interest, as well as a court order stopping the institute from its current functioning as a “diploma mill.”

Are you a current or former cosmetology student of the L.A. Aveda Institute? We want to hear about your experience. Tell us in the comment section below!

The lead plaintiff and proposed Class Members are represented by Anthony Orshansky, Alexandria Kachadoorian, and Justin Kachadoorian of Counselone PC.

The Aveda ‘Diploma Mill’ Class Action Lawsuit is Mays v. Nurtur LLC, et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-08335, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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