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New law is win for married massage therapist
The Legislature abolished a rule barring massage therapists from relationships with former clients.
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More than five years ago, massage therapist LaRae Lundeen followed her heart and began dating, and eventually marrying, former client Kirk Fjellman.
Soon after, the state was seeking to ban her from practicing again because she violated a little-known state rule that prohibits massage therapists from having sex with former clients within two years.
That rule, one of the strictest in the nation, has been abolished thanks to a bill signed Friday by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
The change comes after the married therapist sued the Minnesota Department of Health, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.
Attorney Mark Johnson, representing Lundeen Fjellman, said the suit was now "on hold."
"This is absolutely a victory; what happened to LaRae hopefully won't happen to anyone else," Johnson said, adding that his client had suffered emotionally, financially and professionally. They plan to assess whether to continue to pursue the suit.
"This [bill] gets the state completely out of the business of looking at the sex lives between these practitioners and their former clients," Johnson said.
The health department pursued Fjellman for years in an attempt to take away her ability to practice, and imposed a fine.
In February 2007, the state dropped its case, deciding that the facts "clearly do not constitute the egregious mischief or exploitation that the Legislature sought to protect the public from." The state also paid some of Lundeen Fjellman's expenses.
The Minnesota law for massage therapists was more restrictive than measures regulating physicians, physical therapists and acupuncture practitioners.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Steve Smith, R-Mound, still forbids sexual relations between massage therapists and current clients, but eliminates any mandatory time limit.
Lundeen Fjellman said she didn't know about the law. Kirk Fjellman said the state's actions began after a complaint from his former wife.
The rule being abolished also theoretically applied to an array of alternative health-care providers, from yoga instructors to acupressure therapists, or even someone selling 10-minute back rubs at a mall. It was rarely, if ever, enforced.
JON TEVLIN • 612-673-1702
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Current state office holders
Governor: Tim Pawlenty
One of only a few prominent Republicans to win a competitive re-election contest in the Democratic sweep of 2006, Tim Pawlenty is widely seen as politically shrewd and naturally likable.
- Lt. Governor: Carol Molnau
- Secretary of State: Mark Ritchie
- Attorney General: Lori Swanson
- State Auditor: Rebecca Otto
Minnesota's political giants: Learn more about the men and women who have shaped Minnesota's political history.
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