(a) If the Director determines that a Massage Practitioner or Massage Business is operating in violation of this Article 29 (which is deemed in the entirety of this Section 29.43 to include a violation of a permit condition and/or a violation of the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this Article), the Director may issue a Notice of Violation to the Massage Practitioner, the Massage Business, the owner of real property where the violation occurred, and/or any other Persons the Director deems responsible for causing the violation. The issuance of the Notice of Violation may be by hand delivery, registered mail, or electronic mail.
(b) The Notice of Violation shall include the following information:
(1) That the Director has made a determination that the Massage Practitioner or Massage Business has operated in violation of this Article 29;
(2) The alleged acts or failures to act that constitute the basis for the Director’s determination;
(3) That the Director intends to take enforcement action against the Massage Practitioner, Massage Business, owner of real property, and/or any other Person deemed responsible for causing the violation(s), and the nature of that action, including the administrative penalty and enforcement costs to be imposed, and/or the suspension or revocation of the Massage Practitioner and/or Massage Establishment permit(s);
(4) That the Massage Practitioner, Massage Business, owner of real property, and/or any other Person deemed responsible for causing the violation(s) has the right to request a hearing before the Director within 15 days after the Notice of Violation is issued, which request must be made in writing.
(c) If no request for a hearing is filed with the Director within the appropriate period, the right to request a hearing shall be deemed waived, and the Director’s determination shall become final and effective 15 days after the Notice of Violation was mailed. The Director shall issue an order imposing the enforcement action, and shall send the order to the Persons served with the Notice of Violation by hand delivery, registered mail, or electronic mail. In subsequent civil proceedings, such violations shall be deemed not to have been corrected. Where no hearing is timely requested, an order suspending or revoking a permit is final. The failure of the Person on whom the Notice of Violation is served to request a hearing shall constitute a failure to exhaust administrative remedies and shall preclude the Person from obtaining judicial review of the validity of the enforcement action.
(d) Upon a timely request for a hearing, the Director shall, within 15 days of the request, notify the requester of the date, time, and place of the hearing. Such notification may be made by hand delivery, registered mail, or electronic mail. The Director shall make available to the requester the photographs and other recorded evidence obtained in support of the Notice of Violation as well as a copy of the report prepared by the Director’s designee, if any, to support the Notice of Violation. Such hearing shall be held no later than 60 days after the Director receives the request, unless time is extended by mutual agreement of the requester and the Director.
(e) The Director shall conduct the hearing, or a hearing officer may be designated, who shall have the same authority as the Director to hear and decide the case and make any orders consistent with this Article 29. The Massage Practitioner, Massage Business, owner of real property, or other Person(s) deemed responsible for causing the violation(s) may present evidence for consideration, subject to any rules adopted by the Director or hearing officer for the orderly conduct of the hearing. Within 60 days of the conclusion of the hearing, the Director or hearing officer shall render a decision in the form of a written order, which the Director shall promptly serve on the Massage Practitioner, Massage Business, owner of real property, or any other Persons charged in the Notice of Violation. Service of the written order may be made by hand delivery, registered mail, or electronic mail. The order shall state whether the Notice of Violation has been upheld (in whole or in part), and the enforcement action taken against each party.
(f) If the order directs the Massage Practitioner, Massage Business, owner of real property, or other person to pay an administrative penalty and/or enforcement costs, such amount shall be paid within fifteen days from the mailing of the order; the order shall inform the recipient of such deadline for payment.
(g) If the order suspends or revokes a permit, the permittee must cease operations within 24 hours of the suspension or revocation order being final.
(h) If the order suspends or revokes a permit, or imposes additional permit conditions, it may be appealed to the Board of Appeals in the manner prescribed in Article 1 of the Business and Tax Regulations Code; the order shall inform the recipient of such right to appeal.
(Added by Ord. 272-18, File No. 180757, App. 11/20/2018, Eff. 12/21/2018)