servingalcohol.com

A great initiative by the American Beverage Licensees!

Learn about more issues surrounding alcohol service and sales at servingalcohol.com

We are not offering legal advice, only passing on answers we have heard from the State of Wisconsin, please follow up with your own research of the laws with the links provided.

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Question: I was wondering if thereare any laws concerning the number of drinks a person can order at once.

For example, if we are having happy hour from 4 until 6pm, and a person wants to order 2 rounds of drinks before happy hour ends to have the drinks delivered after 6pm.  Is there a law that states how many drinks a person can order, and are they able to “back up” the drinks they have to avoid paying prices after happy hour.

Answer:  No state law restriction on # of drinks someone can ORDER; however, s. 125.07(2)(a) prohibits persons from selling, dispensing, dealing or trafficking in alcohol beverages to or with a person who is intoxicated. For example, if you sell someone 10 drinks all at once, you may not have violated the letter of the law, but a reasonable person could conclude if the person consumes all of these drinks in a short span of time, the spirit of the law may be violated.

No state law restriction on # of drinks someone can ORDER; however, s. 125.07(2)(a) prohibits persons from selling, dispensing, dealing or trafficking in alcohol beverages to or with a person who is intoxicated. For example, if you sell someone 10 drinks all at once, you may not have violated the letter of the law, but a reasonable person could conclude if the person consumes all of these drinks in a short span of time, the spirit of the law may be violated. I would encourage you to set house rules limiting the number of drinks one may order at a time; it makes good sense from a business standpoint and provides you with a measure of control over customers’ consumption habits while in your establishment, where you are ultimately held responsible.

Question:   I work for a golf course and we have a minor (17 year old) and were wondering if she is able to serve liquor while under the supervision of a person with a operating license?  Or does she have to be 18 before she can even touch anything behind the bar?  Just curious after reading through things and not getting a real clear idea of what she can and can not do.

Answer:   No. Must be at least 18 years of age in order to sell or serve alcohol beverages – s. 125.32(2) and 125.68(2), Wis stats.

Question: Once you complete a seller/server course and they send you certification, do you have to submit any other applications for a license to serve alcohol?

Answer: Upon completion of RBS progarm, you need to apply for a license at the municipality where you will be selling alcohol beverages. Provide a copy of your RBS certificate to the municipality to show you have completeed this requirement. You  must have an operator’s license from the municipality before you can work alone at a licensed premises.

Question:  If I am 20 years old and I am married can I drink alcohol legaly?

Answer:  If your spouse is over the age of 21 and you are accompanying her, you may be served, sold and consume alcohol beverages.

Question:  I understand that bar time is 2:30 on Friday and Saturday night and all drinks must be finished…but what I would like to know is there a certain amount of time that you must have all your customers out of the bar by? Do they need to be out by 2:30 or can you make sure they all leave by 2:45? Is there any leeway and is it written anywhere?

Answer:  Must leave by 2:30AM; there is no “grace period” written into state law.

Question:   to be a server in wisc. is there anything required…is server and bartender one in the same? I want to get the right certifications..

Answer:  Servers (Waiter/Waitress), Sellers (Retailers), and Bartenders all take the same course.  Realize that if you work under the direct supervision of the licensee or another person with an alcohol operator’s license then you do not need a license.  To work without immediate supervision, and serve alcohol, you will need a licensed.

Some municipalities may have different licenses for the specific roles, but I don’t know of any that do that.

Learn more about Wisconsin Alcohol Laws by taking our online Wisconsin Bartender License Course.

International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) & European Forum for Responsible Drinking (EFRD). (2008). Responsible service of alcohol: A server’s guide. Washington, DC: International Center for Alcohol Policies.

This Server’s Guide provides information that blends useful skills, legal and social responsibilities and best practices in order to achieve a responsible service of alcohol within the hospitality and retail industries. Readers will come to know the law and their legal responsibilities, promote social responsibility to communities in which they operate and support best practices within their professions. – Brett Bivans, International Center for Alcohol Policies

Introduction

Selling alcohol requires many skills and involves legal responsibilities – that is, the things you have to do as part of your job in order to comply with the laws. You also need to be aware of your social responsibilities – that is, the things you should do to run a good business and have a positive impact on your community

Acknowledgements:

This guide was drafted by a team from Alcohol Focus Scotland’s ServeWise program under contract to the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP) and the European Forum for Responsible Drinking (EFRD). ServeWise is the largest provider of social responsibility training for the licensed trade in Scotland. It works with a wide variety of stakeholders including licensing board members, solicitors, licensed trade organizations, police, alcohol action teams and training providers, such as local colleges of further education and private training organizations. The drafting team included Linda Bowie (ServeWise Manager), Joanne Worrall (ServeWise Training and Information Officer) and Mary Ellmers (National ServeWise Manager).

All members of staff within the hospitality and retail industries need to appreciate and understand their responsibilities relating to alcohol, know how alcohol affects the body and be aware of the benefits and risks associated with alcohol consumption. These guides are an initial step on the path to learning. They put tools in the hands of practitioners and policy-makers to help them understand their important role in ensuring the responsible service of alcohol.”

In serving alcohol, there are several different aspects to your job:

to be a “police officer” ensuring no one breaks any laws

to be a sales person knowledgeable about your products

to be a cleaner making sure premises are clean and tidy

to be a good host helping to create a friendly atmosphere

to be a safety officer thinking about the well being of customers and reducing any risks

The theme of this workbook is the “responsible service of alcohol”, but what does this mean?

Alcohol is mainly consumed responsibly but can cause harm if misused. It is therefore important to sell it in a way that minimizes any potential harm. This means thinking about who you are selling to, how much you are selling, and the well being of the customer. Many countries have adopted laws to help make things clearer. There is also a lot of established good practice that you can put in place.

Participate with other bartenders and servers at servingalcohol.com

There is no such thing as a Wisconsin Operator’s License. Wisconsin Operator’s licenses (aka bartender licenses) are issued by a municipality and are good only in that municipality.

The Responsible Alcoholic Beverage Server course required by the State is good throughout the state.

Learn more about our Wisconsin Approved Seller/Server Course (aka Bartender License Course) by clicking this link.

Texas Public Intoxication Laws also apply to people drinking in bars! Click here to read more about this story…

Learn more by taking our online Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission TABC online certification course.

Dram shop laws are laws imposing liability on a business owner for injuries caused by an intoxicated person, if the business is responsible for allowing that person to become intoxicated illegally.

Learn more at servingalcohol.com

Don’t spill this when you are serving it!

10,000 Dollar Drink!

posted August 29, 2009

A jury in Rutherford County has returned a $10,035,000 verdict against Ruby Tuesday, Inc., in a lawsuit arising from a 2005 incident at a Ruby Tuesday in Smyrna, Tn.

In August 2005, a Ruby Tuesday bartender served a patron the equivalent of 19 beers in a two-and-a-half-hour period, with no food, Chattanooga attorney Joe DeGaetano said.

The attorney said, “The extremely intoxicated patron then perpetrated a vicious and unprovoked attack on the plaintiff in the lawsuit, Dan Maddy. Mr. Maddy, an innocent customer, suffered severe lacerations to his face and chest as a result of the attack.

“The proof at trial further showed that Ruby Tuesday’s chief risk management executive steadfastly maintained that the bartender who served the 19 beers to the obviously intoxicated patron did absolutely nothing wrong, and that the company never fired, suspended, or otherwise disciplined the bartender.”

The trial began on Tuesday. The verdict on compensatory damages came down on Thursday afternoon after the jury was out about three and a half hours. The verdict on punitive damages came down on Friday afternoon after the jury was out about two and a half hours.

The plaintiff’s lawyers were Mr. DeGaetano of the DeGaetano Law Firm and George Nolan of Leader, Bulso, Nolan & Burnstein, PLC, in Nashville.

Great website if you want to know more about underage drinking, alcohol possession, and alcohol access laws in your state.  http://www.alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov/stateprofiles/

Our online, self-paced, responsible beverage server training (aka Bartending License) course has been reviewed and approved by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and fully complies with statutes 125.04, 125.17, and 134.66.

Click here for more details about our Wisconsin Bartending License Course.