ARTICLE 37. MASSAGE THERAPISTS.
�30-37-1. License required to practice.
To protect the health, safety and welfare of the
public and to ensure standards of competency, it is necessary to
require licensure of those engaged in the practice of massage
therapy. After the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-eight, it shall be unlawful for any person not licensed under
the provisions of this article to practice massage therapy in this
state, or to use the initials LMT, C.M.T., or the words "licensed
massage therapist," "masseur," or "masseuse," or any other words or
titles which imply or represent that the person, corporation or
association is engaging in the practice of massage therapy, or
employ any person, not duly licensed, who is engaging in the
practice of massage therapy or who is using such words or titles to
imply or represent that he or she is engaging in the practice of
massage therapy.
�30-37-2. Definitions.
(a) "Board" means the West Virginia massage therapy
licensure board.
(b) "Massage therapist" means a person licensed to
practice the health care service of massage therapy under this
article who practices or administers massage therapy to a client of
either gender for compensation. No person licensed by the massage
therapy licensure board may be referred to as a primary care
provider nor be permitted to use such designation.
(c) "Massage therapy" means a health care service
which is a scientific and skillful manipulation of soft tissue for
therapeutic or remedial purposes, specifically for improving muscle
tone, circulation, promoting health and physical well-being. Massage
therapy includes massage, myotherapy, massotherapy, bodywork,
bodywork therapy, or therapeutic massage including hydrotherapy,
superficial hot and cold applications, vibration and topical
applications or other therapies which involve manipulation of the
muscle and connective tissue of the body, for the purpose of
enhancing health, reducing stress, improving circulation, aiding
muscle relaxation, increasing range of motion, or relieving neuro-muscular
pain. Massage therapy does not include diagnosis or service which
requires a license to practice medicine or surgery, osteopathic
medicine, chiropractic, or podiatry, and does not include service
performed by nurses, occupational therapists, or physical therapists
who act under their own professional license,certificate or
registration.
(d) "Massage establishment" means a place of business
wherein massage therapy is practiced.
�30-37-3. Board established; membership; terms.
(a) The West Virginia massage therapy licensure board
consists of five members who are appointed by the governor with the
advice and consent of the Senate. Three members of the board shall
be massage therapists, one member of the board shall be an
osteopathic physician or chiropractor who is knowledgeable of
modalities which are included in massage therapy, and one member of
the board shall be a lay person who is not a massage therapist or
other health care professional.
(b) The terms of board members shall be staggered
initially from the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-seven. The governor shall appoint initially three members for
a term of one year and two members for a term of two years.
Subsequent appointments shall be for a term of two years. Each
member shall serve until that member's successor is appointed and
qualified, unless the board member is no longer competently
performing the duties of office. Any vacancy on the board shall be
filled by the governor for the balance of the unexpired term. The
governor may remove members of the board from office for cause.
�30-37-4. Quorum meetings; officers;
reimbursement; staff.
(a) A majority of the full authorized membership of
the board constitutes a quorum.
(b) The board shall meet at least twice a year, at
the times and places that it determines.
(c) The board shall annually elect a chairperson and
a secretary/treasurer.
(d) Each member of the board is entitled to
reimbursement of travel and other necessary expenses actually
incurred while engaging in board activities. All reimbursement of
expenses shall be paid out of the massage therapy board fund created
by the provisions of this article.
(e) The board may employ staff as necessary to
perform the functions of the board, including an administrative
secretary, and pay all personnel out of the massage therapy board
fund created by the provisions of this article.
(f) The board may contract with other state boards or
state agencies to share offices, personnel, and other administrative
functions as authorized under this article.
�30-37-5. Massage therapy board fund; fees;
expenses; disposition of funds.
(a) There is hereby continued a massage therapy
licensure board fund in the state treasurer's office.
(b) The board may set, by legislative rule,
reasonable fees for the issuance or renewal of licenses and its
other services. All funds to cover the compensation and expenses of
the board members shall be generated by the fees set under this
subsection.
(c) The disposition of all funds received by the
board shall be governed by the provisions of section ten, article
one, chapter thirty of this code.
�30-37-6. Duties of board; authorization to
propose rules and fees.
The board shall propose rules for legislative
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code as are necessary to implement the
provisions of this article, which shall include provisions
regarding:
(a) Licensure and continuing education requirements,
standards of practice, professional ethics, disciplinary actions,
and other issues of concern;
(b) Personal cleanliness of massage therapists and
the sanitary conditions of towels, linens, creams, lotions and other
materials, facilities, and equipment used in the practice of massage
therapy; and
(c) All fees for licensure, renewal of licensure, and
all other related matters.
�30-37-7. Requirements for licensure; renewal of
licenses; reinstatement; penalties.
(a) The board shall propose rules for
legislative approval in accordance with article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, establishing a procedure for licensing
of massage therapists. License requirements shall include the
following:
(1) Completion of a program of massage education
at a school approved by the West Virginia Council for Community and
Technical College Education pursuant to section nine, article two-b,
chapter eighteen-b of this code or by a state agency in another
state, the District of Columbia or a United States territory which
approves educational programs and which meets qualifications for the
National Certification Exam administered through the National
Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. This
school shall require a diploma from an accredited high school, or
the equivalent, and require completion of at least five hundred
hours of supervised academic instruction;
(2) Successful completion of the National
Certification for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCTMB)
examination, or other board approved examination; and
(3) Payment of a reasonable fee every two years
required by the board which shall compensate and be retained by the
board for the costs of administration.
(b) A license to practice massage therapy issued
by the board prior to July 1, 2006, shall for all purposes be
considered a license issued under this section: Provided, That
a person holding a license to practice massage therapy issued prior
to July 1, 2006, must renew the license pursuant to the provisions
of this article: Provided,
however, That a
person whose license was issued by the board prior to July 1, 2006,
and whose license subsequently lapses may, in the discretion of the
board, be subject to the licensing requirements of this section.
(c) In addition to provisions for licensure, the
rules shall include:
(1) Requirements for completion of continuing
education hours conforming to NCTMB guidelines; and
(2) Requirements for issuance of a reciprocal
license to licensees of states with requirements which may include
the successful completion of the NCTMB examination or other board
approved examination.
(d) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b)
of this section, the board may deny an application for renewal for
any reason which would justify the denial of an application for
initial licensure.
(e) Any person practicing massage therapy during
the time his or her license has lapsed is in violation of this
article and is subject to the penalties provided in this article.
(f) A massage therapist who is licensed by the
board shall be issued a certificate and a license number. The
current, valid license certificate shall be publicly displayed and
available for inspection by the board and the public at a massage
therapist's work site.
�30-37-8. Enforcement.
(a) The board has the power and authority to enter
into any court of this state having proper jurisdiction to seek an
injunction against any person, corporation or association not in
compliance with the provisions of this article, and is further
empowered to enter into any court to enforce the provisions of this
article to ensure compliance with such provisions.
(b) The board may suspend, revoke, or impose
probationary conditions upon a license or impose disciplinary
sanctions upon a licensee pursuant to rules adopted in accordance
with this article concerning board requirements for licensure. The
following are grounds for revocation, suspension, annulment or the
imposition of other disciplinary sanctions when a person,
corporation or association is:
(1) Guilty of fraud in practice of massage, or fraud
or deceit in the licensee's application for licensure;
(2) Engaged in practice under a false or assumed
name, or impersonating another practitioner of a like or different
name;
(3) Addicted to the habitual use of drugs, alcohol or
stimulants to an extent as to incapacitate that person's performance
of professional duties;
(4) Guilty of fraudulent, false, misleading or
deceptive advertising, or for prescribing medicines or drugs, or
practicing or offering to practice any licensed profession without
legal authority. The licensee may not diagnose, or imply or
advertise in any way a service for a condition that would require
diagnosis;
(5) Practicing or offering to practice beyond the
scope of licensure of massage therapy without legal authority;
(6) Grossly negligent in the practice of massage or
guilty of employing, allowing or permitting an unlicensed person to
perform massage in the licensee's work site;
(7) Practicing massage or bodywork with a license
from another state or jurisdiction that has been canceled, revoked,
suspended or otherwise restricted;
(8) Incapacitated by a physical or mental disability
which is determined by a physician to render further practice by the
licensee inconsistent with competency and ethics requirements;
(9) Convicted of sexual misconduct, assignation or
the solicitation or attempt thereof;
(10) Engaging in any act of sexual abuse, sexual
misconduct or sexual exploitation related to the licensee's practice
of massage therapy;
(11) Obtaining any fee by fraud, deceit or
misrepresentation; or
(12) In violation of any of the provisions of this
article or any substantive rule adopted under the authority of this
article.
�30-37-9. Hearing for revocation, suspension,
other discipline, nonrenewal of license.
All proceedings for the revocation, suspension, or
other disciplinary sanctions, or nonrenewal of licenses issued under
the authority of this chapter shall be governed by the provisions of
section eight, article one, chapter thirty of this code.
�30-37-10. Prohibitions and penalties.
(a) After the thirtieth day of June, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-eight, a person, corporation or association who
is not licensed pursuant to the provisions of this article may not
engage in the practice of massage therapy and may not use the
initials LMT, C.M.T., or the words "licensed massage therapist,"
"masseur," or "masseuse," or any other words or titles which imply
or represent that the person, corporation or association is engaging
in the practice of massage therapy, nor may a person, corporation or
association employ any person, not duly licensed, who is engaging in
the practice of massage therapy or who is using such words or titles
to imply or represent that he or she is engaging in the practice of
massage therapy.
(b) Any person, corporation or association who
violates the provisions of subsection (a) of this section is guilty
of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars,
or confined in jail not more than one year, or both fined and
imprisoned.
�30-37-11. Exemptions.
Nothing in this article may be construed to prohibit
or otherwise limit:
(a) The practice of a profession by persons who are
licensed, certified or registered under the laws of this state and
who are performing services within their authorized scope of
practice. Persons exempted under this subdivision include, but are
not limited to, those licensed, certified or registered to practice
within the scope of any branch of medicine, nursing, osteopathy,
chiropractic and podiatry, as well as licensed, certified or
registered barbers, cosmetologists, athletic trainers, physical and
occupational therapists; and any student enrolled in a program of
massage education at a school approved by the West Virginia State
College System Board or by a state agency in another state, the
District of Columbia or a United States territory which approves
educational programs and which meets qualifications for the National
Certification Exam administered through the National Certification
Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, provided that the
student does not hold himself or herself out as a licensed massage
therapist and does not charge or receive a fee; and
(b) The activities of any resort spa that has been
operating on a continuing basis since the first day of January, one
thousand nine hundred seventy-five, or any employees of the resort
spa. The exemption set forth in this subsection does not extend to
any person, corporation or association providing escort services,
nude dancing or other sexually oriented services not falling within
the scope of massage therapy as defined in this article,
irrespective of how long the person, corporation or association has
been in operation.
�30-37-12.
Repealed.
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