Vermont committee hears testimony for and against licensing massage therapists amid trafficking, safety concerns
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Summary
The Government Operations & Military Affairs committee heard extensive testimony on H.588 about licensing massage therapists and establishments, with advocates citing public safety and training standards and an anti‑trafficking group urging against enforcement that criminalizes vulnerable workers.
Advocates for licensing massage therapists told the Government Operations & Military Affairs committee that Vermont’s lack of educational standards leaves clients and practitioners at risk, while an anti‑trafficking advocate warned that punitive enforcement could harm vulnerable workers rather than reduce trafficking.
Henry Banks, cofounder and co‑director of the ASR Collective, told the committee that "additional criminalization of unlicensed massage work does not reduce trafficking and can, in fact, worsen conditions for those vulnerable workers caught in the crossfire." He urged rights‑based responses such as expanded access to housing, culturally competent outreach, language access and labor protections so survivors are not pushed away from help.
Several massage practitioners testified in favor of establishing licensing and education requirements. Laura Morley, a North Bennington practitioner and educator who said she models her program on the national minimum of 500 hours so students can sit for the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination, said Vermont is “one of the only states left to not require licensing for massage therapists” and that the public often assumes therapists are credentialed when they are not. Morley recounted FBI raids in Bennington in 2012 on businesses she described as “illegitimate” massage fronts and said a county attorney told her licensure would have helped prosecution.
Heather Chatwick, president of the Vermont chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association, urged the committee to adopt licensure rather than registration, saying it should include minimum education, liability insurance, background checks and an ethics standard. "Vermonters deserve better," she said, arguing licensure is necessary to protect clients and to recognize massage therapists as part of the health‑care continuum.
Henry Banks and other witnesses cautioned the committee against enforcement approaches that rely primarily on criminal penalties, saying such approaches can drive already vulnerable workers into more isolated and unsafe conditions and discourage victims from seeking help. Several witnesses said licensing can be a safety tool if combined with affordable, accessible training and supports for workers facing language, cost or immigration barriers.
Committee members thanked witnesses and said they will continue refining H.588 and related proposals over the next two to three weeks, including considering language from separate bills that proponents say could be folded into the OPR measure.
The committee did not take a vote during the session; members invited additional written testimony and follow‑up from participants.
