January 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment

MD Bill to Increase Entry-Level Education Requirements is Withdrawn

Maryland House Bill 818 and Senate Bill 915, both recently introduced in the state legislature, propose to increase the number of hours that an applicant for licensure must complete in a Board-approved massage program from 500 hours to 600 hours.  The bills also would add kinesiology to the content areas that must be included in those 600 hours.

ABMP opposes any increase in the required educational hours or content areas without justification for such a change. There are already considerable inconsistencies in the Maryland law regulating massage therapists that make reciprocity very difficult. Adding to those obstacles for no apparent reason is unacceptable.

The bills have been withdrawn so no additional action will take place in 2013.

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January 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Human Trafficking Notices Must Now Be Posted Unless You Are CAMTC-Certified

Last fall we notified our California members that Senate Bill 1193, which added section 52.6 to the California Civil Code, would be requiring that massage establishments — except those that employ only California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC)-certified therapists — must conspicuously post written human trafficking notices.  The law is now in effect.

As a result,

  • If you practice massage or bodywork in California, and you do not have any other massage therapists or bodyworkers as employees, you must post the human trafficking notice in the place where you practice, unless you are CAMTC-certified. If you are CAMTC-certified, you do not have to post the notice.
  • If you employ others as massage therapists or bodyworkers, then you must post the human trafficking notice in your place of business unless you and all of the therapists/bodyworkers you employ are CAMTC-certified. If you and all of your therapist/bodyworker employees are CAMTC-certified, you do not have to post the notice. If some, but not all, of your employees are CAMTC-certified, you must post the notice.

Any establishment which is required to post the notice but fails to do so is subject to a $ 500 penalty for the first offense and a $ 1000 penalty for each subsequent offense.

The notice must be at least 8 ½ inches by 11 inches in size, and written in 16-point font.  It must be posted near the public entrance of your business or in another location which is in public view.

All establishments which fall under the posting requirement must post one copy of the notice in English and another copy in Spanish.  Establishments in certain counties must post the notice in other languages as well.

Click here  to download and print a copy of the notice in English.

Click here to download and print a copy of the notice in Spanish.

Click here to see if you are required to post the notice in additional languages as well, and to download and print a copy of those notices.

After you have clicked on the required notices, print them on 8 ½” x 11” paper and post them conspicuously in your establishment.

Please do not delay; the requirement is in effect now.

Please contact Nancy Potter at [email protected] with any questions.

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January 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Oregon Bill to Regulate Facilities Signed Into Law

Governor Kitzhaber signed Senate Bill 387 into law on June 13, 2013. Beginning January 1, 2014, “massage facilities,” meaning any “facility where a person engages in the practice of massage,” will be required to obtain a massage facility permit from the Oregon Board of Massage Therapists in order to operate. This requirement will not apply to massage schools, or massage facilities that are owned or operated by licensed massage therapists, or other health professionals listed here.

Only facilities owned or operated by people who are not licensed massage therapists (or other licensed health professionals) will be required to obtain a facility permit.

The next Oregon Board of Massage Therapists Rules Committee meeting is scheduled for June 24, 2013 and we expect the committee to begin discussing rule development for the implementation of SB 387 at that time.

In addition, the Board has adopted new rules that go into effect on July 1, 2013. ABMP strongly encourages members to review the new rules.

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December 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Minor Changes to South Carolina’s Massage Law are Adopted

Senate Bill S. 214, signed into law by Governor Nikki Haley on June 7, 2013, amends South Carolina’s Massage/Bodywork Practice Act (MPA) in several ways.  Many of the changes are minor wording changes.  However, there are some important substantive changes as well.  Previously, the massage profession in South Carolina was regulated by two separate panels under the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation:  an “Advisory Panel” and a “Disciplinary Panel.”  S. 214 combines these two panels into one “Panel for Massage/Bodywork.”  The new Panel will be composed of seven members, one of whom must be a public member with no financial interest in the massage profession.  The Panel has the authority to advise and make recommendations on massage regulations and statutory changes, mediate consumer complaints, conduct hearings on licensure determinations, address and decide alleged violations of the MPA, issue witness subpoenas, require the production of documents, and recommend disciplinary actions.  The law also authorizes standard compensation for board member service.

The bill also changes the massage licensure requirements by stating, at section 40-30-110, that license applicants must complete 500 hours of classroom study at an approved school, among other requirements.  The prior law, by contrast, stated that applicants must complete 500 hours of supervised study at an approved school.  As a result, the law makes clear that any out-of-classroom coursework cannot count toward the minimum required 500 hours.  If a massage program is more than 500 hours, out-of-classroom work is allowed as long as at least 500 hours are in class.

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