Going to a new massage place for the first time can be akin to seeing a snake—you don’t know if it’s harmless (legitimate massage spa) or poisonous (shady sex spa).
The city council of Glendale, CA is taking action to crack down on massage parlors that traffic in illegal activity with a licensing system.
The proposed ordinance would force spa operators who are not certified by the California Massage Therapy Council and who own at least 5% of the business to obtain a city-issued massage-establishment-owner certificate annually.
Due to a change in the overall rules on massage parlors, cities have to enforce new regulations:
But in 2009, the state passed legislation that allowed massage therapists to practice throughout the state without having to obtain a permit from a city or county.
That same year, lawmakers created the nonprofit state massage council as well as a certification process for massage therapists, who must undergo a criminal background check and submit fingerprints to obtain a certificate from the state council.
These regulations are confusing, meaning that individual communities have to force individual regulations on local massage parlors without a one-size-fits-all solution.
Illegal massage parlors hurt the business of legitimate massage parlors.
Make sure to check out a new place online before you go so you can ensure it’s on the up and up.
