07/28/2016
Hawaii SB 2863, discussed in our most recent legislative update, has been signed into law. Under the new law, the state can issue a citation and impose a $250 fine per violation to any licensee for:
(1) Operation of a massage therapy establishment without a licensed principal massage therapist or licensed designee in attendance on the premises during business hours;
(2) Failure of an apprentice to wear a conspicuously placed name tag stating the apprentice's name and the word "apprentice";
(3) Failure of a massage therapy establishment to conspicuously display a current massage therapy establishment license and the current licenses and permits of all persons employed by the massage therapy establishment; or
(4) Failure of a massage therapist or massage therapy establishment to include the respective massage therapist's or massage therapy establishment's current license number in any advertisement.
Numbers (3) and (4) were already required in Hawaii, but the minimum fine have now been increased. Numbers (1) and (2) have been required in regulations, but not previously in statute. The Director of Regulated Industries Complaints informed us that the goal is to address unlicensed practice, not to add new regulations for licensed MT’s. The law went into effect on July 1, 2016.