How to Prevent the Effects of Underage Drinking on Your Restaurant Business

Having spent so much money and time to become your liquor license, the last affair yous desire is to compromise it by selling alcohol to a pocket-sized. The process following the sale of booze to a minor will vary, depending on the circumstances and the state your business is located in; notwithstanding, it is illegal to sell alcohol to a minor in whatsoever country.

Regardless of where your establishment is located in the land, it's vital to ensure that y'all and each fellow member of your staff know the laws and rules, and accept policies in place to prevent underage drinking from occurring in your institution.

Liquor Liability

Anyone who sells or serves alcohol can be held liable for any injuries or damages caused by those who swallow the alcohol you sell them. Enforcement of this liability tin exist accomplished via dram shop laws or a general negligence law, depending on the state.

Bartender liability coverage is a smart thing to have, although it cannot protect against the consequences of serving alcohol to minors.

Dram Shop Laws

Dram shop laws govern the legal responsibility of licensees who sell alcohol to customers of all ages, including minors. A small business that sells or serves alcohol to a customer who is already intoxicated, who is addicted to alcohol, or who is a small is in violation of dram shop laws is going to have a problem.

General Negligence

Covering states that don't have dram shop laws, general negligence considers whether an establishment took what would generally exist considered reasonable action to curb or foreclose an intoxicated customer from harming themselves or another person.

What Can Happen if Your Eating house Serves Booze to a Minor

underage female drinking beer at a bar

The specific consequences of serving of alcohol to minors will vary, merely generally speaking, a restaurant that serves alcohol to a minor tin can confront charges, fines, and jail time.

In terms of who can exist charged for this offense, the employee who sold the alcohol tin can be charged, fined, and incarcerated, every bit tin the possessor of the restaurant and the waitperson who served the booze to the underage private.

The more serious the offense, the more serious the charges or fines. Nevertheless, if it's the first offense, a alarm, fine, or suspension of your liquor license will exist issued. If your license is suspended, your establishment will be prohibited from selling any alcoholic beverages until it has been reinstated. The worst case scenario is that your liquor license can be revoked.

Process for Reversing a Liquor License Revocation

If your liquor license is revoked and yous plead not guilty,  the licensing board will schedule a hearing. You will be required to appear before the board on the date of the hearing to plead your case as to why your license should be reinstated. Depending on the circumstances and your state, you may choose or be required to hire an attorney to accompany you to the hearing.

The hearing can see witnesses and evidence being presented by your state's Liquor Authority. You tin as well present witnesses and bear witness, and cross-exam tin can occur on both sides. The Administrative Police force Guess volition nowadays its findings to the State Liquor Authority, which will make the final decision.

This time away from your business can be costly in more than ane way. Not beingness able to keep on top of the happenings at your establishment can get out y'all vulnerable to further charges or fines if an employee continues to serve alcohol. As well, you lot volition take to pay an attorney to represent you.

Ways to Prevent Underage Drinking

The damage to your business reputation as a outcome of license interruption or revocation can be devastating. This is especially true if several violations have occurred, regardless whether you were direct or indirectly involved. A much amend strategy is to put measures in identify to prevent underage drinking and legal ramifications from full general intoxication, such as bartender liability insurance.

Thorough ID Checks

As the possessor, you are responsible for ensuring that your staff thoroughly cheque the ID of every individual they suspect is underage. Although this tin be hard when your restaurant is decorated, not doing so tin take disastrous results.

The best place to check IDs is at the entrance of your establishment. If your institution has more than ane entrance, IDs should exist checked at each entrance. Or, yous tin can simply lock those doors and allow customers through one entry just—just make sure people can still exit those doors.

Of form, in club to ensure that each ID is checked thoroughly, yous volition need to ensure that each employee has been properly and thoroughly trained to recognize the false IDs which minors will commonly use to be served booze.

A Band or Stamp System

Large or busy restaurants tin can implement a band or stamp system in gild to continue rail of minors who may endeavour to get served alcohol. Those who are underage can exist fitted with a wristband or stamped on the back of their hand. This will warning wait staff and bartenders to just serve them food and not-alcoholic beverages.

female bartender about to check patrons idStaff Instruction

Your staff needs to sympathise the consequences of serving booze to minors. Go far clear to them that even though you are the owner of the establishment, they tin can be charged, fined, and jailed individually. This tin can negatively affect their future in terms of getting employment elsewhere, besides every bit affect their power to obtain licensing themselves.

Creation and Enforcement of Policy

Although getting liquor liability insurance for bartenders, educating staff, and implementing ID checks and other strategies are all smart ways to protect your business from legal woes, you lot must besides accept a way to tie it all together.

This tin can be done by having a policy in place that includes not only the ways that serving alcohol minors can occur, but which too outlines the steps to take to prevent or mitigate the state of affairs should it happen.

Dealing with sure situations, such as when in doubt most age or level of intoxication, can exist hard for staff to deal with. This is where a simple, yet constructive policy can come up into play. For example, yous can instruct staff to decline service any fourth dimension they are in doubt that a person is of historic period or sober.

When they meet these situations, staff can simply be instructed to inform the patron that, due to the institution's policy, they will not exist serving booze. This should be done quietly and discreetly in social club to preserve the dignity of the patron and ensure that the other patrons can continue to enjoy their experience without interruption.

Should the private persist and proceed to demand to be served, employees should be instructed to remain vigilant and restate the fact that they volition no longer be serving alcohol as a matter of policy. At this indicate, it'due south a good idea for the staff member to notify other members of the staff nearly the individual, to prevent further service.

Does Liquor Liability Insurance Protect You from Underage Drinking?

Despite your efforts to educate staff and implement policies, your establishment tin can still be open to legal activity from customers. Liquor liability coverage is a good idea, equally information technology tin provide y'all with a manner to lessen your fiscal burden. This kind of policy will aid you to cover the cost of settlements or judgments, amercement from alcohol-related accidents, lawyer fees, and similar expenses.

Notwithstanding, having liquor liability insurance will not protect yous, your employees, or your business should a minor be served in your establishment. It is illegal to serve minors country-wide. The just way to do this is to have equally many strategies in identify as possible to prevent minors from being served booze.

Of form, underage drinking is merely ane of several legal risks for establishments that serve alcohol. You can incur damage to your property every bit the result of an intoxicated patron or grouping of patrons. Patrons tin can sue you for your damages if they drink at your institution, attempt to bulldoze home, and get involved in an blow. Employees who beverage on the chore can also become injured.

All of these reasons make having liquor liability insurance a proficient thought, even if your establishment is located in a state that doesn't require y'all to comport information technology.

Getting the Right Coverage

restaurant owner signing liquor liability insurance

There are many inclusions and exclusions surrounding liquor liability. When you lot want to ensure the all-time possible coverage, it can help immensely to speak with a professional who specializes in coverage for businesses similar yours.

The right insurer for you will be the i that will put their qualifications to utilize and offer flexibility, allowing your policy to be tailored to fit your needs. To acquire more about the benefits of liquor liability coverage, call (281) 769-5274 for a liquor liability insurance quote for your restaurant.