Establishment Licensing is a business license specific to massage therapists and massage therapy businesses that a city may require in addition to general business license or without a general business license. It usually demands that the massage business owner submit applications, undergo inspections and pay fees to show that they are a legitimate massage therapist/business. It is a specialized extra requirement that places another burden on massage therapists who have already passed state licensing requirements except for the four unlicensed states ( California, Kansas, Minnesota, Wyoming).
Business licensing is different than establishment licensing in that it requires every type of business to obtain one from the city/county/state.
Many states have already implemented what is called establishment licensing (EL) which is an additional license to the already issued state massage license. The idea is that this will let law enforcement officials somehow take more action against the many sexually oriented businesses disguised as massage businesses. This is making the assumption that licensed massage therapists are the ones actually running the SOB’s. In most states, massage therapists are already licensed by the state having passed an approved massage school training, a licensing exam and background check. Many states also require that licensed massage therapists also have to post their license on the wall of the office and have it listed on advertisements such as websites.
ABMP and AMTA, the two main massage associations, have made statements in 2017 against massage establishment licensing, yet state legislators continue to try to create the laws to enact establishment licensing. The reasoning is that it will give authorities the right to inspect massage businesses to see if they are legit and shut them down if they are not. Law enforcement agencies are having a difficult time being able to investigate and prosecute the SOB’s. They need a reason to go into the business. The SOB’s are sometimes able to get actual business licenses somehow, but do not have licensed massage therapists working there.
At these establishments, the people who are hired to give the so called massage are often immigrant women and even men who speak little or no English are controlled or coerced by their employers to offer sexual services alongside massage. These women may owe large debts to their employers, may not control their own finances, and may be told they will be arrested or persecuted if they leave the massage parlor. These elements of fear, coercion and isolation make victims extremely reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement. This, in turn, makes it very difficult to prove human trafficking at these establishments. Everyone calls them illicit massage businesses when in fact they are prostitutes. Prostitution is illegal in every state except NV that allows it in a few counties. Here is the thing… they are illegally using the word massage in their business names, list of services and advertisements.
The thing is that a law-abiding, legitimate massage therapist will not be the businesses that are committing the crimes which is prostitution and often human trafficking. EL would require that a state massage board investigtor go into possible human trafficking set ups which are run by drug lords, cartell and shell companies who are very dangerous.
ABMP’s Statement:
Illicit Businesses, Human Trafficking, and Establishment Licensing
ABMP advocates for reasonable regulation of massage therapy establishments. Oftentimes, in an effort to address illicit businesses, laws are created that adversely affect legitimate massage establishments. It is our position that massage therapists alone should not shoulder the financial burden of countering illicit businesses. Therefore, we advocate for eliminating establishment licensing for sole practitioners who are clearly not engaging in human trafficking. We would like to see states adopt language that would result in misdemeanors for individuals who advertise massage services without a license to practice massage.
ABMP believes the governance of a profession licensed by the state should fall solely on the state. Statewide massage licensure and regulation of the profession gives local law enforcement all the authority needed to crack down on bad actors. The solution is not to continue to pile onerous restrictions onto massage therapists but to educate and empower law enforcement to tackle the human trafficking blight within the scope of the authority already granted to them. We need to expand the reporting process so members of the public can safely and anonymously report criminal enterprises. District attorneys need to place a higher priority on pursuing prostitution cases, going after the leaders of human trafficking rings rather than the victims. And we must work to end this patchwork quilt of ineffective and harmful local ordinances that are damaging the massage therapy profession. Are double massage therapy fees worth minimal results? We think not.
Ordinances 101
Ordinances are different from establishment licensing. Many cities and counties are moving to creating local ordinances to help shut down the illicit businesses. The thing about ordinances is that they should not require establishment licensing.
AMTA has supports the creation of ordinances as long as they follow these guidelines for creating ordinances here which includes a list of must haves and must have nots.
ABMP says: “Local massage therapy ordinances, a well-intentioned but misguided attempt to fight human trafficking operations at a local level, impose additional, burdensome regulations on licensed massage therapists.”
“Statewide massage licensure and regulation of the profession gives local law enforcement all the authority needed to crack down on bad actors. “
and ABMP further states: “The solution is not to continue to pile onerous restrictions onto massage therapists but to educate and empower law enforcement to tackle the human trafficking blight within the scope of the authority already granted to them. We need to expand the reporting process so members of the public can safely and anonymously report criminal enterprises. District attorneys need to place a higher priority on pursuing prostitution cases, going after the leaders of human trafficking rings rather than the victims. And we must work to end this patchwork quilt of ineffective and harmful local ordinances that are damaging the massage therapy profession. Are double massage therapy fees worth minimal results? We think not.”
Educating law enforcement and legislators seems to be missing in the massage profession.
Back in 2015, AMTA-Indiana chapter made a proposal to the Assembly of Delegates:
“Therefore be it resolved, that the House of Delegates recommend to the National Board of Directors that a work group or operations committee be established to research and recommend a plan that the American Massage Therapy Association can use to develop support material and create a guide for working with Homeland Security, the Human Trafficking Task Force, and other organizations working on human trafficking.“
We are still waiting on that plan and materials to help untangle massage from sex work and teach our community leaders about massage therapy so that they can understand the issues we are left to deal with because of this issue.
Public Interest or Policy Diffusion: Analyzing the Effects of Massage Therapist Municipal Licensing: 16 Oct 2022 Darwyyn Deyo, Kofi Ampaabeng, Conor Norris , and Edward Timmons
