§ 22-306. Employee work permits required; application.
(a)
Massage/spa establishment work permit required . It shall be unlawful for any person to be an "employee," as defined in this article, of a massage establishment or a spa establishment in the city without a valid massage/spa establishment work permit, except that a person who holds a valid massage/spa establishment license or who is listed in response to subsections 22-304(c)(7)a—c., in relation to a valid massage/spa establishment license shall not be required to also obtain a massage/spa establishment work permit to be an "employee" at that particular licensed establishment. A person who works at more than one establishment shall obtain a separate work permit for each establishment. No applicant for a massage/spa establishment work permit shall work at a massage establishment or a spa establishment in the city until the applicant receives, and the establishment posts, the employee's work permit as required by this article. A receipt issued by the city is not a valid massage/spa establishment work permit and does not authorize the person to work in a massage establishment or spa establishment.
(b)
Background check; access to criminal history records information "CHRI" . This section 22-306 "Employee work permits required; application" requires a state and national criminal background check of persons who work as employees, as defined in this article, of a massage establishment or a spa establishment. This section is enacted pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 35-3-35 to regulate the issuance of work permits for massage/spa establishment employees.
(1)
An applicant for a massage/spa establishment work permit shall, before the filing of the application, submit two sets of his/her fingerprints taken by the Chamblee Police Department. Such persons shall submit their fingerprints and pay the required fee to the police department not more than 60 days before the filing of the license application.
(2)
The police department will consider whether the applicant has been convicted of a specified criminal activity, as defined in this article and as set forth in subsection 22-306(e)(6) below. The police department shall advise the city clerk of its fitness determination for each applicant within 15 days of the filing of a completed application form.
(3)
An applicant may request and receive a copy of his/her criminal history record information from the police department. Should the record applicant seek to amend or correct his/her record, he/she must contact GCIC as to state records and/or the FBI for records from other jurisdictions maintained in its file.
(c)
Application. An applicant for a massage/spa establishment work permit shall file in person at the office of the city clerk a completed application made on a form provided by the city. The application must be signed and notarized. Applicants shall make themselves available for photographing. An application shall be considered complete when it contains the information and/or items required in this subsection (c), accompanied by the work permit fee:
(1)
The applicant's full legal name and any other names used by the applicant in the preceding five years.
(2)
Current business or other mailing address, and an e-mail address, for the applicant.
(3)
Written proof of age, in the form of a driver's license or a picture identification document containing the applicant's date of birth issued by an agency of a state or of the federal government.
(4)
A signed and sworn affidavit verifying the applicant's lawful presence in the United States as required by O.C.G.A. § 50-36-1.
(5)
The name and address of the massage establishment or spa establishment for which the applicant seeks to obtain the work permit.
(6)
A statement of whether the applicant has been an owner, director, officer, partner, member, or shareholder of a massage establishment or spa establishment that has, in the previous five years (and at a time during which the person was so related to the establishment):
a.
Been declared by a court of law to be a nuisance; or
b.
Had its license to operate a massage establishment or a spa establishment revoked.
(7)
A statement of whether the applicant has within the previous ten years:
a.
Has been arrested for, convicted of, or pleaded guilty or entered a plea of nolo contendere to a specified criminal activity as defined in this article, and if so, each specified criminal activity involved, including the date, place, and jurisdiction of each such arrest and/or conviction; or
b.
Has been found by a tribunal to have violated a state law or regulation governing the practice of massage therapy, and if so, the date and place of each violation, the date of the finding, and the name of the tribunal that made the finding.
(8)
A statement that the applicant has submitted his/her fingerprints to the Chamblee Police Department not more than 60 days before the filing of the work permit application.
The information provided pursuant to this subsection (c) shall be supplemented in writing by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the city clerk within ten working days of a change of circumstances which would render the information originally submitted false or incomplete.
(d)
The information provided by an applicant in connection with an application for a work permit under this article shall be maintained on a confidential basis, and such information may disclosed to the public only as required under governing law. Any information protected by the right to privacy as recognized by state or federal law shall be redacted prior to any required disclosure under the Georgia Open Records Act or other applicable law.
(e)
Issuance of work permit . Within 30 days of the filing of a completed massage/spa establishment work permit application, the city clerk shall either issue a work permit to the applicant or issue a written notice of intent to deny the work permit to the applicant. The city clerk shall issue the work permit unless:
(1)
The applicant is less than 18 years of age.
(2)
The applicant has failed to provide information required by this article for issuance of a work permit or has falsely answered a question or request for information on the application form.
(3)
The work permit fee required by this article has not been paid.
(4)
The establishment for which the applicant seeks a work permit does not have a valid massage/spa establishment license from the city.
(5)
The applicant has been an owner, director, officer, partner, member, or shareholder of a massage establishment or spa establishment that has, in the previous five years (and at a time during which the person was so related to the establishment):
a.
Been declared by a court of law to be a nuisance; or
b.
Had its license to operate a massage establishment or a spa establishment revoked.
(6)
The applicant, within the previous ten years, has been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or entered a plea of nolo contendere to, a specified criminal activity, as defined in this article, or has been found by a tribunal to have violated a state law or regulation governing the practice of massage therapy.
(7)
The applicant has, within the previous year, engaged in massage therapy as defined by O.C.G.A. § 43-24A-3 without the license or provisional permit required for such activity under state law.
(f)
The work permit, if issued, will be valid for a period of one year from the date it is issued. Replacement and additional work permit(s) shall be issued upon payment of one-half of the fee charged for a work permit and will expire the same date as the then-current work permit. A massage establishment or spa establishment employee shall provide the employee's work permit to the establishment for which it was issued to be posted on the premises pursuant to this article.
(g)
The city clerk shall issue a written notice of intent to revoke an employee's work permit, following notice and hearing pursuant to this article, and demand its return if the employee has violated the provisions of this article, any state law or applicable local ordinance.
(h)
It shall be unlawful for an employee whose work permit has been revoked to refuse to return the work permit to the city clerk or to alter, conceal, deface, or destroy the work permit.
(i)
The work permit fee for a massage/spa establishment work permit shall be set by resolution of the city council and shall remain in effect until modified or amended by subsequent resolution adopted by the council.
(Ord. No. 753 , pt. I, 10-16-18)