California

Governor Newsom announced a new COVID-19 website to identify what is open in California, available at https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy. 

Governor Newsom announced on July 13, 2020, that counties that have remained on the County Monitoring List for three consecutive days must close indoor businesses, which includes those offering personal care services as of July 13, 2020, “unless they can be modified to operate outside or by pick-up.”

The California Department of Public Health issued new guidelines for Personal Care Services on July 2, 2020, for massage therapists, estheticians, cosmetologists, and nail professionals. Here are the major changes in the new guidelines:

Massage therapists, estheticians, cosmetologists, and nail professionals may resume business operations no sooner than June 19, 2020.

The California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) sent an email late Friday evening with the following update: 

"Today, however, we received an additional communication from the Director of the Department of Health Care Services:

RE: Information regarding your state's back-to-practice permission date and safety guidelines to minimize risk of exposure to, and spread of, COVID-19 in the workplace.

There has been confusion and conjecture about when massage therapists and licensed beauty professionals (including estheticians, cosmetologists, barbers, nail professionals, and electrologists) may resume business operations in California. Following is the latest information.

ABMP has summarized below how COVID-19 has impacted licensing regulations and laws in the state of California.

Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) into law on September 18, 2019. It will become effective on January 1, 2020.

It has come to our attention that many of our members received a letter from the City of San Francisco to cease and desist the practice of massage (defined as massage and bodywork in the Massage Practice Act) if you do not have a "Health Permit to Operate."

Earlier this year, the California Supreme Court issued a decision that will affect whether California workers are classified as employees or independent contractors. The case, Dynamex v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, states that in order to classify a worker as an independent contractor, the person or business who hires the worker must prove all three of the following things: