Sexual assault lawsuits overwhelm Massage Envy

Goodwill and a stellar reputation make up the core assets of a franchise model. It is the franchise’s reputation for producing a consistent, reputable product or service that lures investors to purchase franchises, and customers to patronize them. Franchise giant Massage Envy’s 1000 franchisees are worth billions and are the largest massage/spa company in the country. Until recently, the company’s franchises enjoyed all of the benefits of consistent quality and service that one could expect. It is hard to envision another customer going to the franchise giant Massage Envy, however, after almost 200 women filed lawsuits in December of 2017 alleging that therapist there sexually molested them. Executive at Massage Envy met directly with “the victims, victim rights groups, industry associations, and sexual violence experts ” in order to, as the company put it, “define a plan going forward.”

Many feel that the company failed to take previous complaints seriously and on November 29, an investigation was launched by the Illinois attorney general. CBSNews.com reported that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan issued subpoenas last week to investigate complaints of sexual assault, groping, and sexual misconduct made against Massage Envy franchisees. Of all of the factors that Madigan is looking at, the most pressing is the history of past complaints against massage therapists claiming inappropriate therapist behaviour and what was done about it.

Massage Envy is the largest massage/spa franchise in the country. Through a network of 1000 franchises, the company employs more than 25,000 licensed massage therapists and aestheticians. Recently, Several people have filed sexual assault lawsuits against particular therapists at Massage Envy. In 2016, a Fitchburg massage therapist was accused of sexually assaulting a woman during a massage at the Massage Envy franchise where he was employed. According to www.wkow.com, “33-year-old Christopher Ehrett faces a felony count of third-degree sexual assault for having “sexual intercourse” with the woman during her appointment on December 12.”

Massage Envy CEO Response to Sexual Harassment Allegations;

“Each location was required to review, recommunicate and, in no uncertain terms, recommit to our safety and reporting policies.
We have just completed an additional review of all massage therapist files to ensure they have a completed background check and professional reference checks as well as to ensure their licensure/certification is current and annual training requirements have been met.
Our accredited third-party background screening company has begun rescreening each and every one of the 20,000 licensed massage therapists within the Massage Envy network.”

To the credit of the Massage Envy franchise, the company has performed over 1 million messages and franchisees have hired thousands of therapists. In the past, the responsibility for vetting potential massage therapists lies in the hands of the state where they were licensed.