ROCHESTER – City staff has put eight massage parlors' licenses on probation as a result of a new inspection program designed to address human trafficking. Yet elected officials and massage professionals question whether the initiative is fair to immigrant owners.
Rochester and Olmsted County staff last fall started a health inspection pilot modeled on similar programs in other Minnesota cities. Sagar Chowdhury, an associate director at Olmsted County Public Health, helped start St. Cloud's program in 2018 and 2019.
Chowdhury told the Rochester City Council on Monday that the local inspection model represents a positive step toward helping human trafficking victims as inspections aren't driven by complaints but rather as requirements to keep local business licenses.
Eight of the city's 38 massage therapy businesses failed inspections earlier this year, largely for sanitary issues. City officials said traces of semen were found in several businesses, while others didn't routinely clean stations or change linens. One business had a therapist who wasn't appropriately dressed, and in some cases inspectors found full kitchens and living quarters — signs workers may be sex trafficking victims.
The council approved probation agreements with six massage parlors Monday night, with another two businesses set for similar agreements later this month. Probation for those businesses will last until April 2024.
Yet some council members and at least one professional expressed concern the inspections could have been frightening for Asian owners who didn't speak English well — all six businesses who went on probation Monday needed Mandarin-speaking inspectors during the probation process.
Inspectors didn't bring along interpreters when they arrived at businesses, though Chowdhury said city and county officials often waited for someone to translate for them once they spoke with owners.
Some council members took issue with that approach, either because owners may not have understood what was going on even with interpreters and because city staff didn't know who was translating. Council Member Shaun Palmer also pointed out criticism from massage professionals who argued clients sometimes leave semen in their businesses without workers' knowledge.