Will tighter rules run some Riverside massage therapists out of business? - Press-Enterprise

[massage]

A recent change to the rules for Riverside massage businesses aimed to make them easier for police to enforce.

But the new regulations also could make it harder for a handful of massage therapists to do business in the city, though some have worked in Riverside for years with no complaints against them.

Starting in April, the city will require massage therapists to be certified by the California Massage Therapy Council, a statewide nonprofit board created by 2008 state legislation. Previously, Riverside police had their own process to check the credentials of people who weren’t certified by the council.

The switch could be an issue for about a dozen therapists, who Riverside police say have not yet passed the state test. The police department runs background checks on therapists and steps in when illicit activities such as prostitution are suspected.

One of those affected by the new rules is Kim Ramirez, who has worked in Riverside for seven years giving therapeutic and Swedish massages. She took the test but didn’t pass, she said, adding that it’s a difficult exam and she doesn’t have enough time to study because of her full load of clients.

Ramirez doesn’t have an issue with the city’s changes, but “My concern is for those of us who have been here and have been doing it for years,” she said.

The impetus for the new regulations was to streamline the process for Riverside police, who had a hard time determining whether massage schools where therapists got their training were above board, Riverside police Sgt. Mike Crawford said.

Once the state council was created, it ran checks on the schools, so there was no need for the city to duplicate that work, he said.

“We just didn’t have the resources to do what they were doing.”

Prostitution is a big problem in the massage business, Crawford said, with some schools acting as diploma mills that enabled human trafficking.

The state council allowed a window during which massage therapists who were registered with a city could get certified without taking the test, but that ended in 2014, Crawford said.

The Riverside therapists who aren’t state-certified — about a dozen out of roughly 200 who do business in the city — have been told about the changes, which the City Council approved in March. They have until next spring to comply.

Vicki Ellis-Ehresman, a massage therapist who works in the same building as Ramirez, said she doesn’t think she’ll ever need some of the information required on the state test, but she’s been studying and thinks she can pass and get certified.

“A lot of these kids coming out (of schools) don’t even know how to do a massage because they aren’t being trained that way,” she said, but added, “I’m willing to do what it takes to stay in business.”

Ramirez would like the city to grandfather in people like her who have had city permits in the past and are in good standing. She said she sees about 35 to 40 clients a week and works 10-hour days.

Ramirez has taken her case to city officials, including City Councilman Jim Perry, who chairs the council committee that recommended the rule change.

Perry said he’s been talking with officials at the state council about what people can do if they don’t have complete records of their training because the school they attended has closed, as is Ramirez’s case. He’s encouraging her to take the state test again.

“I think when we have people that are having physical contact with the public, we want people to have the training and education … to ensure that they’re up on their profession,” he said.

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