Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council tightens massage-business rules, citing trafficking concerns; requires state credentials and staff training
Summary
Council adopted revisions to the city's massage-establishment ordinance that require state-issued massage-therapist credentials for establishment license holders, e-Verify/documentation for applicants, mandatory human-trafficking recognition training for staff, limits on hours (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.), prohibition on overnight stays and roster disclosures; enforcement appeals move to the city manager.
Sandy Springs moved to strengthen regulation of massage establishments on March 17 as council members and staff emphasized efforts to curb human trafficking and enforce licensing requirements.
City Attorney Dan Lee presented a comprehensive rewrite of the massage-establishment ordinance to bring local rules into alignment with state licensing and to provide local enforcement tools. Key changes adopted by the council include a requirement that any person seeking a license to operate a massage establishment hold a state-issued massage-therapist license; mandatory e-Verify or Department of Homeland Security documentation for applicants; and a requirement that every employee complete a human-trafficking recognition program recognized by the police department.
Lee explained the changes are modeled on state rules and aimed at addressing observed enforcement gaps. "Just like lawyers run law offices, a licensed massage therapist would run a legitimate massage therapy establishment," Lee said, summarizing the intent to ensure establishments are managed by licensed professionals.
The ordinance sets operating hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., prohibits overnight stays at massage establishments, and forbids certain devices used by illicit operations (referred to in the discussion as "table showers"). The ordinance also requires license holders to provide a roster of all staff with job titles and contact information and directs staff to use e-Verify for employment eligibility checks.
Police leadership said the online human-trafficking recognition course used in outreach is short and designed for quick staff briefing. "It's an online course, less than 15 minutes," the police chief told council members.
The revised ordinance also shifts appeal authority for licensing decisions to the city manager rather than to the mayor and council to create a faster, administratively oriented process for enforcement and license revocation. The council approved the ordinance by voice vote.
