The Borough of Montvale acknowledges that licensure, certification
or registration of massage and bodywork therapists is regulated by
the Massage and Bodywork Therapist Licensing Act, N.J.S.A. 45:11-53
et seq. However, the purpose of this chapter is to establish business
permit requirements to ensure that massage and bodywork therapy establishments
meet standards that protect and preserve the health, safety and welfare
of the citizens of the Borough of Montvale, and the patrons of such
businesses.
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words, terms,
and phrases, when used herein, shall have the meanings set forth below,
except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
ACT
The Massage and Bodywork Therapist Licensing Act, N.J.S.A.
45:11-53 et seq., as may be amended from time to time.
MASSAGE AND BODYWORK THERAPIES
The systems of activity of structured touch which include,
but are not limited to, holding, applying pressure, positioning and
mobilizing soft tissue of the body by manual technique and use of
visual, kinesthetic, auditory and palpating skills to assess the body
for purposes of applying therapeutic massage and bodywork principles.
Such application may include, but is not limited to, the use of therapies
such as heliotherapy or hydrotherapy, the use of moist hot and cold
external applications, explaining and describing myofascial movement,
self-care and stress management as it relates to massage and bodywork
therapies. Massage and bodywork therapy practices are designed to
affect the soft tissue of the body for the purpose of promoting and
maintaining the health and well-being of the client. Massage and bodywork
therapies do not include the diagnosis of illness, disease, impairment
or disability.
MASSAGE AND BODYWORK THERAPY ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment, business or operation wherein massage
and bodywork therapies are administered or are permitted to be administered,
which shall include the operation of an outcall massage and bodywork
therapy service.
Every applicant for a massage and bodywork therapy establishment
business permit shall file an annual application with the Borough
Clerk upon a form to be provided by the Clerk and pay an annual fee
of $550. Upon receipt of a completed application for a business permit,
the Borough Clerk shall issue a business permit to operate, but not
prior to the application being reviewed, processed and approved by
all relevant municipal officials and departments, which departments
shall be granted up to 30 days to review and act on the application
following receipt of the completed application. Applications for renewal
must be received 60 days prior to the expiration of the business permit.
Unless an applicant for a business permit for a massage and
bodywork therapy establishment or renewal thereof can produce proof
reasonably satisfactory to the Police Department that a criminal background
check was conducted at the time of registration with the New Jersey
Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:11-76
and N.J.S.A. 45:11-80, all applicants seeking a business permit or
renewal thereof pursuant to this chapter shall respond to the Borough
of Montvale Police Department with a current driver's license or other
government-issued photo identification. The applicant shall be photographed
and provided with a fingerprint application form to obtain fingerprints
from a vendor licensed by the State of New Jersey. The applicant,
at the applicant's sole expense, shall respond to the authorized fingerprint
vendor's location for a fingerprint check.
All business permits issued under this chapter shall be valid
only to the sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership
or company, corporation or any other form of business organization
to which the permit was issued, and shall not be transferable to another
entity or a different premises. A new permit application, in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter must be filed prior to any alterations
to a previously permitted establishment.
The massage and bodywork therapy establishment shall display
the state-issued license/registration to the establishment, the state-issued
certification/license of each and every massage and bodywork therapist
employed and/or conducting business at the establishment, and the
business permit issued by the Borough, all to be displayed in an open
and conspicuous place within the premises of the establishment in
accordance with N.J.A.C. 13:37A-3.4.
Every massage and bodywork therapy establishment shall comply
with the following:
A. Every portion of the massage
and bodywork therapy establishment, including all appliances and apparatus,
shall be kept clean and operated in a sanitary condition.
B. Price rates for all services
shall be prominently displayed in the reception area in a location
available to all prospective customers.
C. All employees, including massage
and bodywork therapists, shall be clean and wear clean, nontransparent
outer garments, completely covering sexual and genitalia areas, including,
but not limited to, completely covered breasts.
D. Dressing areas for employees
and customers shall be available on the premises. Such dressing areas
shall be shielded from public view and provide the individual utilizing
same privacy from all other individuals. If the dressing area is also
used as the therapy/massage room, then adequate procedures shall be
in place to safeguard the privacy of the individual using same as
a dressing area. In no case shall these dressing areas be locked when
both a client and any employee are present.
E. All massage and bodywork therapy
establishments shall provide clean, laundered sheets and towels in
sufficient quantity, which shall be laundered after each use thereof
and stored in a sanitary manner.
F. A written disinfection plan for
all linens, towels, and reusable instruments used by the establishment
must be approved by the Board of Health, kept on site, and be available
for review by the inspecting official at all times. The establishment
must operate in conformance with the approved plans at all times.
G. Access to a sanitary restroom
shall be provided for clients at all times.
H. Any patron under the age of 18
years of age must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian or
adult with written permission from the parent or legal guardian.
I. A land line telephone shall be
made available in the establishment. Emergency telephone numbers for
Emergency Medical Services, the Borough of Montvale Police Department,
Fire Department, and Board of Health along with "911" shall be posted
conspicuously and unobstructed from view adjacent to the land line
telephone.
J. The sexual or genital area, including
breasts, of customers must be covered by towels or undergarments when
in the presence of an employee or massage and bodywork therapist.
K. It shall be unlawful for any
person knowingly, in a massage and bodywork therapy establishment,
to place his or her hand upon or touch with any part of his or her
body, to fondle in any manner, or to massage a sexual or genital area,
including breasts, of any other person.
L. No massage and bodywork therapist,
employee or manager shall perform, or offer to perform, any act that
would require the touching of the customer's sexual or genital area,
including breasts.
M. All walls, ceilings, floors,
pools, showers, bathtubs, steam rooms and all other physical facilities
shall be in good repair and maintained in a clean and sanitary condition.
Wet and dry heat rooms, steam or vapor rooms, steam or vapor cabinets,
shower compartments, and toilet rooms shall be thoroughly cleaned
each day that the establishment is in operation. Bathtubs and showers
shall be thoroughly cleaned after each use. When carpeting is used
on the floors, it shall be kept clean and dry.
N. Oils, creams, lotions and other
preparations used in administering massage and bodywork therapies
shall be kept in clean, closed containers or cabinets.
O. Animals, except for service animals,
shall not be permitted in the massage and bodywork work area.
P. Each massage and bodywork therapist
shall wash his or her hands in hot running water, using antibacterial
soap or disinfectant before administering massage or bodywork therapy
to each customer.
Q. No massage and bodywork therapy
establishment shall permit any activity or behavior prohibited by
the laws of the State of New Jersey, particularly, but not exclusive
of laws proscribing prostitution, indecency and obscenity, including
the sale, uttering or exposing and public communication of obscene
material.
R. Hours of operation of any massage
and bodywork therapy establishment shall not commence prior to 9:00
a.m. and shall not extend beyond 9:00 p.m.
S. Client records must be maintained
for each and every client who receives services from the massage establishment
in accordance with the requirements of N.J.A.C. 13:37A-5.2, as same
may be amended and supplemented from time to time. Access to these
records shall be provided in accordance with the provisions of N.J.A.C.
13:37A-5.3, as same may be amended and supplemented from time to time.
T. It shall be the responsibility
of the owners of the massage therapy establishment and the holder
of the license for the establishment to ensure that all persons and
massage therapists comply with all provisions of this chapter.
U. The establishment shall conform
to and observe all applicable rules, regulations, and prohibitions
set forth in N.J.A.C. 13:37A, as may be amended and supplemented from
time to time.
V. Doors to common areas/hallways
and to all massage and bodywork therapy rooms are not permitted to
have locks or to be locked or hasped at any time.
W. All main entrance doors to massage
and bodywork therapy establishments are not permitted to be locked
or hasped during the establishments' hours of operation.
The Health Official, Construction Official, Zoning Officer,
the Code Enforcement Officer, and/or the Fire Marshal shall, from
time to time, and at least once a year, make an inspection of each
massage and bodywork therapy establishment within the Borough for
purposes of determining whether or not the provisions of this chapter
are being complied with. The Police Department may also, from time
to time, conduct inspections of each massage and bodywork therapy
establishment to determine if there are any violations of this chapter
and/or violations of any other ordinance of the Borough of Montvale
or the laws of the State of New Jersey on the premises. Such inspections
shall be made at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner. It shall
be unlawful for any massage and bodywork therapy establishment to
fail to allow such inspection officer access to the premises or to
hinder such officer in any manner.
No part or portion of any massage and bodywork therapy establishment
shall be used for or connected with any bedroom or sleeping quarters,
nor shall any person sleep in such massage and bodywork therapy establishment,
except for limited periods incidental to and directly related to a
massage and bodywork therapy treatment. This provision shall not preclude
the location of a massage and bodywork therapy establishment in separate
quarters of a building housing a hotel, motel or other separate business.
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to massage and
bodywork therapies given:
A. In the office of a licensed physician,
chiropractor or physical therapist;
B. By a regularly established medical
center, hospital or sanatorium having a staff that includes licensed
physicians, chiropractors and/or physical therapists;
C. By any licensed physician, chiropractor
or physical therapist in his or her patient's residence; or
D. By a licensed barber or cosmetologist/hairstylist
limited to the areas of the face, neck, scalp or upper part of the
body as set forth in the Cosmetology and Hairstyling Act of 1984,
N.J.S.A. 45:5B-1 et seq.