Hundreds of volunteers fanned out across New York on Thursday morning as part of an outreach campaign for nail salon workers organized by city officials, with the goal of reaching thousands of manicurists by day’s end and educating them about their rights and how to protect their health.

The scale of the campaign was ambitious — city officials said they visited over the course of the day more than 1,000 nail salons in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. The volunteers, as well as city employees, were armed with fliers and packets of information in different languages for manicurists about wages, their right to paid sick leave and how to limit their exposure to potentially harmful chemicals in nail products.

The administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, put together the effort, calling it a Nail Salon Day of Action, after an investigation by The New York Times published two weeks ago exposed widespread exploitation of nail salon workers and the serious health problems many of them endured.

The campaign began early at subway stops and on street corners across the city where manicurists congregate before heading out for long days at salons.