Advancement of Portability for Charitable Massage – Legal Insights in Nevada
It doesn’t seem like a ‘big deal’ to most people, but to massage therapy professionals, what’s been developing in Nevada could become a huge advancement for license portability and promotion of industry standards that are becoming more congruent from state to state as time moves on.
MWR Project Inc has had and continues to have the privilege of working with the Nevada State Board of Massage Therapists (NSBMT) on developing fair and systematically-beneficial rules that have integrity for license Applicants and massage-receiving Public alike regarding charitable events in Nevada.
Reasoning for Jurisdictional Licensing
The main responsibility of and reason the NSBMT was born is to protect the Public – to promote Public Safety where the purveyance and conveyance of massage therapy modalities is concerned…in every place in the state of Nevada.
Nevada has its challenges: illegal prostitution using the massage therapy industry as a front, human trafficking is rampant in Sin City (Southern Nevada), and regulation of a large resort spa industry consumes the time and resources of a relatively new Board in the Nevada State government system – only 5 years old.
When one talks about portability – like the ‘import’ of, from another state – the NSBMT takes an administrative look and puts every new & transferring-in applicant under the microscope. It is their responsibility to Public Safety that demands that all ‘I’s are dotted and ‘t’s are crossed.
MWR Project’s Interest in Nevada’s Massage Law
One of the subjects of massage law that concerns the MWR Project and its subsequent Petition to the NSBMT regards performance of massage at charitable events by out-of-state licensed massage therapists.
There are written massage laws in other states, more or less regulated, that explicitly and in detail state the role of an out-of-state therapist that practices in their state; most states with the “charitable” laws already written favor charitable performance of massage therapy by LMTs licensed in other states. Nevada’s law is not currently written as favorably regarding accessibility of the Nevada jurisdiction for out-of-state licensed professionals to perform massage, specifically for charitable purposes.
It has been a necessity for the Project to adhere to state massage law and, moreover, a desire to be in line with the jurisdictional Board of Nevada and local business license departments has led MWR Project to Petition the NV State Board.
In its June 11th Petition, and on behalf of the Project, David Otto requested that a policy or process be devised that produces, on behalf of the NSBMT, a list of NSBMT-approved LMTs from other states to perform massage therapy on the Public attending their charitable, nonprofit-oriented Event.
What has been concluded by the NSBMT is that there is a POSSIBILITY and, now, a PROBABILITY that the massage law in Nevada may allow out-of-state, state-licensed and qualifying massage therapists. A Temporary License Policy for out-of-state massage therapists is currently in the vetting stage, and a formal presentation and vote by the Board is intended to commence and bear fruit in the NSBMT’s October 2010 Public meeting.
Why a ‘Temporary License’?
There are several key factors that legally complicate MWR Project’s Main Event – work with us for a minute: the logical conclusion will make sense:
The purpose of law is to protect the Public – the purpose of regulation is to enforce the law, which protects the Public. Assuming all Massage Practitioners follow the Massage Law, the Public is safe. So who can be a Massage Practitioner? The Board decides through an application process, which evaluates moral fiber, competency, and intent to follow the massage law once the applicant is licensed. Renewal of a license also depends on these things.
An event like the Massage World Record Attempt of “Most Simultaneous Massages Performed” connotes a large effort: possibly in the scope of “the World,” to be exact. Well, Nevada Massage Law does not allow the (unauthorized) World to come in and practice. And, until a few days ago, it hadn’t considered anyone outside the state of Nevada to be legally able to practice massage in Nevada, without their entire process being completed successfully – proof of credentials, Federal background check, financial commitment, and time are the main costs associated with the Nevada process.
(TENTATIVE) Logical Conclusion: Now, the result of a concerted effort of the Board members and Administrative Staff and David’s Petition, there is a Temporary License Policy for charitable events being considered, and, upon final review and approval of the NSBMT, the Policy will determine that, in so many words, any out-of-state state-licensed massage therapist that meets the minimum requirements of Nevada’s application regarding number of education hours (at a minimum, and yet to be determined) WILL BE ABLE to apply for a Temporary (90-day) license to perform massage at [registered] Nonprofit Organizations’ events where touching the Public is part of the intent.
Portability = Possibility
If you consider portability’s definition, MWR Project has only brought to the attention of the NSBMT the POSSIBILITIES of a collaboration of State Boards of Massage Therapy – the NSBMT has done a wonderful thing by considering (and finally approving in October 2010, fingers crossed!), deriving policy, and applying the principle of (im)portability of comparable State massage therapy licenses.
This could not be closer to the intent of MWR Project to increase the visibility locally and participation nationally of massage therapists from all over the country!
Some More FAQs
Here are some facts we know and can ascertain will most likely be true:
- Washington, D.C. & the 50 U.S. States’ LMTs will be able to apply through a process mediated by the Nonprofit Organization [MWR Project Inc, in our case] and the license will be applicable only to this Event, in May 2011.
- Unless otherwise noted (please contact MWR Project with questions), a list of states/jurisdictions will be supplied by the NSBMT and constantly updated to the Project that will be communicated to those LMTs expressing interest as to each LMTs eligibility for Temporary License.
- Current state licenses (at the time of the Event, e.g. “through May 2011”) will be required during the application process. This means that up to 3 months before the Event, we anticipate your needing a current (“good through May 2011”) state license in order to be eligible to receive your Temporary Nevada Massage Therapist license.
- Based on the NSBMT’s activity in moving this Policy development rather quickly and steadily, we anticipate Registration for all U.S. LMTs to perform at this event to be OPEN in late October 2010.
Future FAQs
There will be more details as the Policy is finally unfolded, written, and lays out the “A, B, Cs” of how this pilot Policy and flagship Event will work with the NSBMT to “make it so”- so everyone is protected and covered. Please keep an eye out for the October 15th decision, announcements, and updates that pertain to your performing massage in Nevada if you are a state-licensed out-of(-Nevada)-state massage therapist. Keep up with the news through MWR Project’s RSS Feed (direct to your Inbox) or express your interest in being a massage therapist at the BIGGEST massage ever™!
We would like to mention that the process takes time – and that time is favored when considering Public Safety – solid processes and decisions are not easily made when many people are involved and/or affected. All probabilities, challenges, and solutions have been derived and addressed in a well-thought-out and comprehensive Policy that considers all parties the process of regulating charitable application of massage therapy.
Thank you
MWR Project would like to thank each Board Member for considering and HAVING this conversation. We would also like to especially thank Lisa Cooper, Executive Director for the NSBMT, for hand-developing the currently-considered and –developing Policy that allows qualified and eligible Licensed Massage Therapists from other U.S. jurisdictions to practice in Nevada. Without the integrity of the process being upheld by Lisa and all the current Board Members alike, the process would be lost and POSSIBILITIES would never become REALITIES.
And thank YOU for reading this: your interest in reading this whole article has just signed you up to PARTICIPATE in the BIGGEST massage ever™!