California bartenders will have to pay for training under new state law. Here’s how it works

A new California law starting in July will require bartenders and their managers to pay for training to help reduce drunk driving and other alcohol-related risks.

Many businesses and some communities in California currently require training but most do not, said California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control information officer John Carr. The training could be paid for by the bartender or their employer. The alcohol licensee is responsible for making sure their servers comply.

“What has changed is that the law makes training mandatory instead of voluntary,” Carr said.

Who does the law affect and when does it start?

Assembly Bill 1221, passed in 2017, required the Alcoholic Beverage Control to create the Responsible Beverage Service training program which mandates on-premise alcohol servers and their managers to receive beverage service training and certification, Carr said.

The law goes into effect July 1, and according to the alcohol control division, bartenders employed before July 1 have until Aug. 31 to complete the training. Bartenders hired after July 1 have 60 days from their hire date to comply.

Why does this law exist?

Carr said the law was passed after a drunk driving crash that killed two University of California San Diego medical students and injured three more.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control shows that 9,288 people were killed in drunk driving crashes between 2009 and 2018 in California, with the death rate being the highest between ages 21 and 34.

Carr said that it is “everyone’s hope” that the mandatory training can help reduce DUI’s by making the roads, streets and highways safer.

“Alcohol servers and their managers play an important role in public safety,” Carr said. “If alcohol isn’t served responsibly, it can lead to over-served patrons or illegal sales to underage persons and put the public in danger.”

Streets Pub and Grub bartender Geneva Thompson said that knowing she can be charged with a misdemeanor for serving a minor or serving an obviously intoxicated person ensures that she does her job correctly.

“It is a lot of responsibility, but I don’t get that many problems because people understand the law,” Thompson said.

If a server sells or gives alcohol to a person under 21 years of age, they are guilty of a misdemeanor. If a server sells or gives alcohol to a person who is obviously intoxicated, that is also a misdemeanor offense, according to alcohol and beverage control.

What are the training requirements?

AB 1221 requires that five mandated training topics be included in any training program run by approved providers. The topics include the social impact of alcohol, impact of alcohol on the body, state laws and regulations related to driving under the influence, intervention techniques to prevent the service or sale of alcohol to underage or intoxicated patrons and instruction on the development of management policies.

Ricardo Fernandez, a bartender at Cheesecake Factory at Arden Fair, said that he feels his job is to take care of guests when they come and sit at the bar and that cutting people off when they drink too much and making sure underage people don’t drink alcohol are some of the ways he takes care of them.

“I have to make sure they are good even after they leave me,” Fernandez said.

There are over than 56,000 businesses in California licensed by beverage control, whose alcohol servers and managers will be mandated to complete the training, Carr said.

Alcohol and beverage control charges $3 for servers and managers to register, which Carr said goes to support the the training program’s maintenance.

The costs for the training are charged by the training provider and are “completely separate” from the state department.

Carr said training providers are charging anywhere from $6 to $20 for the online training and in-person training generally costs more.

The responsible service training can be completed in three steps.

• Registering with Alcohol and Beverage Control through the training portal
• Choosing an approved training provider and completing the training
• Taking and passing the exam

According to the beverage control department, they are not issuing physical or downloadable certificates. Once the training is complete and the exam is passed, the status will be updated to “certified” on the dashboard.

Certifications are valid for three years and must be renewed before the expiration date to remain valid, according to the department.

Is it enforced?

If a bartender is not trained by the deadline, the beverage control office will work with them to become compliant, said Bryce Avalos, a spokesperson.

“The bartender would not face any penalty if they served after 8/31,” Avalos said in an email. “The licensee is responsible for making sure employees are trained.”

Will bar goers see a difference?

Fernandez, the bartender at the Cheesecake Factory, said he doesn’t think much will change in how servers do their jobs after the law goes into effect.

“I feel like most of the people doing the training will more than likely skim through the information and do the bare minimum to pass,” Fernandez said.

Thompson, at Streets Pub and Grub, said that it does not bother her that she has to go through training and receive a certification to continue bartending.

“I think it is good to have everyone having the same understanding of how things works,” Thompson said.

Fernandez said he thinks the training is “unnecessary” since he had to go through a similar training as part of the hiring process to become a bartender at Cheesecake Factory.

“I have to pay for a certification to continue doing the same thing that I was already doing before the certification,” Fernandez said.

This story was originally published June 29, 2022 at 5:00 AM.