No Massage Establishment License?

[bballgurlis]

Hey Everyone!
I was going to start to work at a nice spa, however, I found out that they don't have the Massage Establishment License. The owner claims that she has a license which covers nails, hair cuts, and massage. Is there such license in the state of Florida? Because I've never heard of it before. So, I decided to call the school that I graduated from. They told me No! I can't work there, anyone who is offering a massage, even a doctor, must have an establishment license. Afterwards I found a job on craigslist at Chiropractors office. I was going to start this Monday and guess what? They don't have the license either :grin:
The owner said that she is working on it, however, she wanted me to do massage under doctors license and I refused.
I recently received my license and don't really know much about my profession.

Would appreciate any advice,

 

[man darin]

You should learn about the profession, in order to be more professional.

In 90% of situations, a massage establishment license is needed. If establishments are flying under the radar, chances are they are not following labor laws, are not properly insured and probably are not acting the the best interest of their clients or technicians.

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/massage/index.html

 

[Russell B]

In the State of Florida there must be a Massage Establishment License. There is no such thing as a license that covers nails/hair and massage. Massage is a separate license. As a licensed therapist you are responsible for making sure that any place you work at has the proper licensure.

Your massage school was required to teach a set number of hours of Florida Law as part of your education. This would have covered all of the legal requirements regarding massage in our state. Perhaps they missed that part?

Angie

 

[gizmo]

In the State of Florida there must be a Massage Establishment License. There is no such thing as a license that covers nails/hair and massage. Massage is a separate license. As a licensed therapist you are responsible for making sure that any place you work at has the proper licensure.

Your massage school was required to teach a set number of hours of Florida Law as part of your education. This would have covered all of the legal requirements regarding massage in our state. Perhaps they missed that part?

Angie

That's what I told the owner, but she kept telling me that she has been working for years and never had any problems bla bla bla...
Actually, they didn't miss anything. They taught me everything what I needed.
The thing that I can't get is how the Chiropractor's office and the Spa offer a massage and hire LMT's, If they don't have the appropriate license and have been working successfully for so many years?
I have this bad habit, believing whatever people say, but from now on I will always make sure that everything is right.

 

[Jay B]

Enforcement of massage establishment laws depends largely on someone making a complaint to the relevant local/state agency. They don't have the personnel to actively seek out wrongdoers, so many places slip under the radar for years at a time.

You can always contact the office that issues massage establishment licenses to see if a prospective employer has the requisite licensing. That would settle any doubts up front, and probably save you some time with interviews, demo massages, etc. Not to mention the discomfort of listening to a would-be employer's song-and-dance about "it's okay, yadda-yadda-yadda, believe us!" :irked:

How difficult is it to obtain and maintain the required licensing? I've seen some INSANE requirements here in Minnesota (see City of Brooklyn Center), but in Florida the process should be reasonably simple by now. I am curious to know if it's so bad that it's worth operating illegally for years at a time?

 

[jake long]

An establishment license is not that hard to obtain, I got one! LOL.

It's a bit of a pain, and yeah there is $$$ behind it. But I would never think of working without one.

Here's the link to do a license look up. It's for all medical licenses in FL including massage therapist & establishment license.

http://ww2.doh.state.fl.us/irm00praes/praslist.asp

 

[Ol Jackrabbit]

An establishment license is not that hard to obtain, I got one! LOL.

It's a bit of a pain, and yeah there is $$$ behind it. But I would never think of working without one.

Here's the link to do a license look up. It's for all medical licenses in FL including massage therapist & establishment license.

The website is great, Thanks :grin:
By the way, I am from Fort Myers

*edited by Talenyn to fix quote box

 

[dynollis]

No problem. Most useful page on the DOH website! LOL

I used it excessively (read obssively ) while waiting for my license as it appeared online before I got the notice in the mail.