(a) A practitioner licensed or certified under this chapter shall be subject to disciplinary actions set forth in § 5315 of this title, if, after a hearing, the Board finds that the massage and bodywork therapist or massage technician:

(1) Has employed or knowingly cooperated in fraud or material deception in order to acquire a license as a massage and bodywork therapist or certification as a massage technician; has employed or knowingly cooperated in fraud or material deception in order to acquire a massage establishment license; has impersonated another person holding a license or certification, or allowed another person to use the massage or bodywork license or massage technician certification, or aided or abetted a person not licensed as a massage or bodywork therapist or certified as a massage technician to represent that person as a massage or bodywork therapist or massage technician;

(2) Has been convicted of a crime that is substantially related to the practice of massage and bodywork, as set forth in the Board’s rules and regulations; a copy of the record of conviction certified by the clerk of the court entering the conviction shall be conclusive evidence thereof;

(3) Has an impairment related to drugs or alcohol or a finding of mental incompetence by a physician that would limit the practitioner’s ability to undertake his or her practice in a manner consistent with the safety of the public;

(4) Has violated a lawful provision of this chapter, or any lawful regulation established thereunder;

(5) Has had that practitioner’s license as a massage and bodywork therapist or that practitioner’s certificate as massage technician suspended or revoked, or other disciplinary action taken by the appropriate licensing authority in another jurisdiction; provided however, that the underlying grounds for such action in another jurisdiction have been presented to the Board by certified record; and the Board has determined that the facts found by the appropriate authority in the other jurisdiction constitute 1 or more of the acts defined in this chapter. Every person licensed as a massage and bodywork therapist or certified as a massage technician in this State shall be deemed to have given consent to the release of this information by the Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy or other comparable agencies in another jurisdiction and to waive all objections to the admissibility of previously adjudicated evidence of such acts or offenses;

(6) Has failed to notify the Board that the practitioner’s license as a massage and bodywork therapist or certificate as massage technician in another state has been subject to discipline, or has been surrendered, suspended or revoked. A certified copy of the record of disciplinary action, surrender, suspension or revocation shall be conclusive evidence thereof;

(7) Has engaged directly or indirectly in the division, transferring, assigning, rebating or refunding of fees received for professional services or who profits by means of a credit or other valuable consideration such as wages or an unearned commission, discount or gratuity with any person who referred a patient or with any relative or business associate of the referring person. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as prohibiting the members of any regularly and properly organized business entity recognized by the Delaware law and comprised of massage therapists from making any division of their total fees among themselves as they determine by contract necessary to defray their joint operating costs; or

(8) Has knowingly employed or cooperated in the hiring or contracting for the services of, or, as the professional-in-charge of a massage establishment, leased space or otherwise entered into a contractual relationship with or permitted, any unlicensed person or persons required by this chapter to hold an unrestricted license to practice any of the professions regulated by this chapter; or

(9) Has been guilty of unprofessional conduct, as adopted in the rules and regulations, and which shall include departure from or the failure to conform to the national code of professional ethics and standards of acceptable massage and bodywork practices.

Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 5313

  • Board: shall mean the State Board of Massage and Bodywork established in this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 5302
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Division: shall mean the Division of Professional Regulation of the Department of State of Delaware. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 5302
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Massage and bodywork therapist: shall mean a person who represents himself or herself to the public by any title or description of services incorporating the words "bodywork" "massage" "massage therapist" "massage therapy" "massage practitioner" "massagist" "masseur" "masseuse" or who engages in the practice of massage and bodywork for a fee, monetary or otherwise. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 5302
  • Massage establishment: means any place of business that offers the practice of massage and bodywork and where the practice of massage and bodywork is conducted on the premises of the business, or that represents itself to the public by any title or description of services incorporating the words "bodywork" "massage" "massage therapy" "massage practitioner" "massagist" "masseur" "masseuse" or other words identified by the Board in regulation. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 5302
  • Massage technician: shall mean a person, who is certified with the Board to perform certain functions within the practice of massage therapy, and who is authorized by the Board to use any title or description of services incorporating the words "bodywork" "massage" "massage practitioner" "massagist" "masseur" "masseuse" or "certified massage technician " but shall be prohibited from using the words "therapist" or "therapy. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 5302
  • Person: shall mean a corporation, company, association and partnership, as well as an individual. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 5302
  • Practice of massage and bodywork: shall mean a system of structured touch applied to the superficial or deep tissue, muscle, or connective tissue, by applying pressure with manual means. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 5302
  • Professional-in-charge: means a licensee who is responsible for the operation of a massage establishment, including ensuring that all employees are licensed, where required by law. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 5302
  • State: means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 5302
  • Substantially related: means the nature of the criminal conduct, for which the person was convicted, has a direct bearing on the fitness or ability to perform 1 or more of the duties or responsibilities necessarily related to the practice of massage and bodywork. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 5302

(b) Where a practitioner fails to comply with the Board’s request that the practitioner attend a hearing, the Board may petition the Superior Court to order such attendance, and the said Court or any judge assigned thereto shall have jurisdiction to issue such order.

(c) Subject to the provisions of this chapter and subchapter IV of Chapter 101 of Title 29, no license shall be disciplined, restricted, suspended or revoked by the Board, and no practitioner’s right to practice shall be limited by the Board, until such practitioner has been given notice and an opportunity to be heard in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act [Chapter 101 of Title 29].

70 Del. Laws, c. 582, § ?1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § ?1; 71 Del. Laws, c. 108, §§ ?2, 3; 74 Del. Laws, c. 262, § ?100; 75 Del. Laws, c. 436, § ?52; 77 Del. Laws, c. 199, § ?40; 78 Del. Laws, c. 44, §§ ?78, 79; 78 Del. Laws, c. 363, § ?11; 81 Del. Laws, c. 104, § 5;

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