By Pete Whitridge
Happy New Year! We are now in the final 8 months of our biennial license renewal period. Review the information below to make sure you and the establishment in which you work are ready for renewal as well as in compliance with the current, updated legal requirements. I hope to see you in a workshop in the year ahead.
Please be sure to:
• Familiarize yourself with all the new laws and rules changes
• Retain/update your fingerprint/background screening (if required)
• Complete your required CE hours before midnight August 31, 2025.
You must complete 7 hours required by the Board (Laws, Ethics, Medical Errors, and Human Trafficking) as well as 17 hours related to the practice of massage therapy, for a total of 24 hours, on or before the renewal date.
I invite you to join me for a Bodywork Weekend. All offerings are focused workshops where you will give and receive bodywork and receive specific feedback from a seasoned educator. You’ll leave class inspired and ready to use your skills with clients immediately. Reconnect with colleagues, enjoy the camaraderie of an in-person training, and receive treatment for your body, mind, and spirit. I have four classes scheduled:
- March 15-16 (Dynamics of the Breath)
- June 7-8 (Strategies Scars and Burns)
- July 19-20 (Strategies for Effective Pain Relief)
- August 2-3 (Myofascial components of Low Back and Leg Pain)
All classes are 17 CE hours and meet the Florida Board of Massage requirements for “relevant to massage”. Your hours can be submitted to CEBroker.com for various states including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, and New Hampshire. All classes are New York sponsored and NCBTMB approved.
I will also be offering two in-person Big 3 Required Class workshops (Ethics, Laws, and Medical Errors) in Gainesville (location TBD). You can choose Monday, June 9 or Monday, July 21.
LAWS AND RULES UPDATE
I’ve attended the recent Florida Board of Massage Therapy meetings and have gleaned some important nuggets of information to help you be “inspection ready”. Please be sure to read and understand your new obligations according to the legislation in effect since July 1, 2024. Here is an informational power point provided to attendees at Massage Establishment workshops offered recently around the state by the Department of Health.
All inspectors have been using a newly updated inspection form which requires them to inspect a sample of client records, review all employee records, confirm that you have current insurance coverage, and make sure that you are displaying the correct human trafficking poster. In addition, inspectors will confirm that any outside signage, window coverage and any window tinting follow the law. [480.043 (14)(a-f)]
Independent contractors – 480.033(8)
If you are renting a room or space in a massage establishment and have considered yourself an independent contractor, the new law defines you as an “employee”. This new definition does not change your status for IRS purposes. It does change your status for enforcement purposes of the revised statute.
Be sure your massage license is conspicuously displayed with your 2”x2” photo. I would also suggest you add your establishment location as an ‘additional insured’ with your insurance provider (ex. AMTA, ABMP, etc.) You will need to provide the establishment owner with the basic information listed below.
Employee Records – 480.043 (14) (d)
The establishment owner and the DEM will be required to have the following information on file for you:
• Start date of employment
• Full legal name
• Date of Birth
• Home address
• Telephone number
• Employment position
• Copy of government identification
Client Records – 480.043 (14) (f)
Failing to have complete client records is now grounds for disciplinary action. These records can be your SOAP notes or some other method of record keeping, but you must be able to provide an inspector a sample of the records that you keep on your clients.
Legible records must include:
• Date, time, and type of service or treatment provided
• Full legal name of the employee who provided the service or treatment
• Full legal name, home address, and telephone number of the client
“All information required under this paragraph must be collected and recorded before any service or treatment is provided to a client or patient. The establishment must confirm the identification of the client or patient before any service is provided…”
Documents required while working in a massage establishment – 480.0535 Many locations have received an automatic suspension because they’ve violated the requirement for legal identification. A valid government ID is required for any person operating a massage establishment as well as for all employees working at the location. You must be able to produce a valid government ID for the inspector or any law enforcement officer who requests it.
Board of Massage Therapy Automatic Suspensions
No Designated Establishment Manager (DEM) – 480.043 (12)
Many locations have received an automatic suspension because they have violated 480.043 (12) by failing to have a Designated Establishment Manager practicing at the location. A DEM must actively practice at the establishment and is responsible for the operation of the location. A replacement DEM must be named by the location within 10 days after a DEM resigns. A new definition, added to the statute this year, allows additional professionals including acupuncturists, physicians, osteopaths, or chiropractors to be designated as a massage establishment DEM.
Prostitution/Sexual Misconduct
While I don’t imagine anyone reading this column will be in the following situations, the Board has been issuing automatic suspensions for establishments who have employees engaging in sexual activity. There is a new section added to the law 480.043 (14)(a) which prohibits an establishment owner and/or employees from engaging in or allowing any person to engage in sexual activity in the establishment OR to use the establishment to plan to engage in sexual activity in another location. Used or unused condoms are specifically prohibited in a massage establishment. Sex toys, lingerie, personal lubricants are also considered evidence of possible sexual activity. This has become a common way for investigators and law enforcement to quickly shut down illegal operations of sex trafficking under the guise of massage therapy.
Many locations have also received an automatic suspension because they have violated 480.046 (3)(b) “The holder of a license is guilty of fraud…gross negligence, incompetency, or misconduct in the operation of a massage establishment” or 480.046 (3)(c) “The establishment owner, designated establishment manager, or any massage therapist has disciplinary action taken for sexual misconduct involving prostitution, crimes related to the practice of massage therapy involving prostitution or conviction or guilty plea or nolo contendere to any misdemeanor or felony crime related to prostitution or related acts as described in s. 796.07”.
The Department of Health has a criminal arrest and conviction database that cross references all licensees of the Division of Medical Quality Assurance. Once an arrest or conviction is recorded, a case is established against any license holder within the Department of Health. I mention all the above because I want you to be aware that if the owner of your establishment shows up on the aforementioned database for sexual misconduct, the establishment will automatically be shut down and you would lose your place of employment. Do your due diligence prior to renting a room or working at a location.
If you have questions or concerns about any of the information I’ve covered in this post, please get in touch at justaskpete@mac.com. I’ll be happy to assist you.
