PA SB 1227 is a legislative action intended to thwart human trafficking, and once again, massage parlors are at the top of the hit list. According to a number of different human interest and political action websites, Pennsylvania is notorious as a center of human trafficking. PA is on the interstate corridor between New York and Ohio, and is also a popular detour on the New Jersey to Florida route, all viewed as major trafficking centers.
What SB1227 does:  Requires the posting of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline by entities where victims are most likely to see it. In “massage establishments and spas,” along with other businesses such as hotels/motels, nail salons, truck stops, taverns and strip clubs, the notice containing the hotline information must be posted on the doors of the bathroom stalls or on the inside door of the bathroom.
Human trafficking is a very serious matter. Victims are used for forced labor, subject to rape and other physical violence and physical and psychological torture. Prostitution is the most popular form of forced labor. None of us would wish it on anyone.
I certainly do not object to the intent to stop the human suffering that is behind the bill. What I find sad is that massage is associated with this blight on humanity, and that this law will not differentiate the legitimate massage establishments and spas from the brothels. Every establishment will be required to post the human trafficking signs, and failure to do so will result in a civil penalty. So not only will the therapists in PA need to post the sign, but they should also be prepared to have the inspector/police/gestapo or whomever is going to enforce that come into their place of business to be sure it’s properly displayed. It perpetuates the myth that we’re all doing something illegal. I would be mortified if a few clients were sitting in my lobby and the police walked in and announced that they were investigating human trafficking and wanted to inspect my business. Talk about making a good impression…
I don’t think there is any chance of this bill being stopped; it looks like the majority of legislators in PA are signed on as not only supporters but actual sponsors. And as federal laws have been a miserable failure at stopping human trafficking, you can expect more and more states to enact their own bills on it. So get ready, the police may be visiting your office soon.
July 25th, 2010 at 5:50 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by MASSAGE Magazine, MASSAGE Magazine. MASSAGE Magazine said: New blog post: PA Anti-Human Trafficking Bill…Massage at the top of the list http://bit.ly/aUFjhJ [...]
July 27th, 2010 at 6:21 am
Thanks Laura for continuing to sound the alarms that our profession needs!
There should be something that could be done in the way of an exemption to this bill for those with the PA state license. Every law has exemptions to protect those who should not have to live or work by the proposed laws requirements. This is a perfect example of where an exemption would be appropriate. If the state legislator who was the author/sponsor of the bill that Licensed PA MTs is still a lawmaker there, it seems he or she would be the perfect person to offer such an amendment, since from your description this bill would greatly undercut the validity of that License.
September 29th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
A late response, but I just wanted to point out that compliance with such a law is not only very simple, but, I believe, actually increases the credibility of our establishments. It’s a way of supporting our industry as a valuable, legal, ethical contributing industry in society by taking an agressive stand against those who exploit and misuse it.
Considering the weak enforcement of these laws around the country I find it unlikely that “the gestapo” will be “barging in” anywhere—especially a place that has not generated any complaints.
I too grow weary of people making assumptions/jokes about the massage profession, but the reality is perpetrators of forced prostitution very often do disguise themselves within the massage community.
If we really want to strengthen the integrity and legitimate good name of massage therapy we need to go beyond these minimal laws/ordinances and aggressively promote the ethical practices of real massage therapy.