ACLU says Nevada agency is wrongfully denying Asian women massage therapy licenses
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint Wednesday against the Nevada State Board of Massage Therapy alleging discrimination within the agency’s licensing practices.
The ACLU and ACLU of Nevada filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Bi Ling Zhu, a Chinese woman whose application was denied because of “an uncorroborated arrest despite the charge being dismissed,” according to a press release.
The Nevada State Board of Message Therapy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The EEOC complaint alleges the state massage therapy board violated federal laws against discrimination when it rejected Zhu’s application in 2023. Zhu worked as a licensed massage therapist from 2016 to 2020 before she was arrested in 2019 on a solicitation charge, to which she pleaded not guilty and was ultimately dismissed.
The ACLU says that between 2020 and 2024, the board routinely denied license applications based on prior criminal charges that were later dropped. An ACLU investigation found 54 other women “faced similar questions about an unproven arrest record,” according to the EEOC complaint. Of those, nine were Caucasian women and six of those applicants were granted temporary or permanent licenses. Forty-one Asian women with similar criminal records submitted applications during the same time with 11 being granted probationary or full licenses, according to the ACLU.
The filing claims the board’s licensing policy is causing an “unjustified disparate impact on the ability of Asian women to obtain employment as massage therapists.”
Chris Peterson, ACLU of Nevada legal director, said the state board was ignoring a “sacred American principle” of innocent until proven guilty.
“Ms. Zhu’s arrest had been dismissed almost four years earlier; no evidence corroborated the allegations, but the licensing board concluded she was guilty as charged. Ms. Zhu and dozens of other Asian women have been barred from practicing the profession for which they have successfully trained and previously practiced, restricting their economic opportunities at a time when so many Nevadans are already struggling to make ends meet.”
Zhu, in a statement issued through the ACLU, urged the board to change its policy, saying it has had a “severe impact on my financial stability and well-being.”
“I once earned a stable income as a licensed massage therapist, but since being barred from practicing due to this discriminatory policy, my ability to support myself and my family has been severely compromised,” she said.
Alejandro Agustin Ortiz, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU Racial Justice Program, said Zhu’s situation “underscores the need for regulatory bodies to ensure their policies do not perpetuate racial or gender discrimination, ensuring all individuals have equal access to economic freedom and professional opportunities.”
Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@reviewjournal.com. Follow AC_Danzis on X.
