To no one’s surprise, the deeper the industry (and the ABC itself) digs into the upcoming RBS program requirements, definitions, and consequences, the more detailed the nuances of the program become. The California alcoholic beverage industry is more than just waiters and waitresses – the service of alcohol cuts across every facet of California business and every type of alcoholic beverage license issued by the ABC (currently 75 discrete license types, each with different privileges and many combined with other license types for special purposes). This is the reason our original estimate of the likely number of people required to be trained was multiples of the ABC’s estimated one million.
The questions and nuances have started. The ABC also reads our blogs (thank you ABC) and uses feedback from us and from others (especially the trade associations) to clarify what they interpret the requirements to be during this intermediate period before full implementation.
We have received follow-up questions to the RBS requirements from our readers. We also reviewed the latest ABC updates on RBS information on their website and participated in the latest trade association (Family Winemakers) zoom presentation. Our efforts now are to distill the information into usable FAQ soundbites.
Below is a summary of the ABC’s first round of answers to our frequently asked questions and the updated information.
1. First, to clarify who is and who is not considered a “server” requiring RBS certification by July 1, 2022. The concept of server is defined by the tasks performed at any time by an employee of a licensed business:
“Serving alcoholic beverages for consumption” means performing any of the following actions by an alcohol server as an employee or contractor of an ABC on-premises licensee when interacting with a patron of the ABC licensed premises”.
This includes:
Checking patron identification – this applies to any server at a licensed premises and security guards checking IDs at the door of a licensed premises. Security guards that do not check IDs do not have to be RBS certified. This will require careful structuring of personnel by security services, and by large venue employers.
Taking patron alcoholic beverage orders.
Pouring alcoholic beverages for patrons.
Delivering alcoholic beverages to patrons.
Managers must be certified. A “manager” means any person who trains, directly hires, or oversees alcohol servers at an ABC licensed premises, or any person who trains alcohol servers how to perform the service of alcohol for consumption for an ABC on-premises licensee, including but not limited to, when to check identification or when to refuse service to a patron.
Employees of a licensed plane, train, or boat (license types 43, 44, 45, 46, 53, 54, 55, and 56) also must be RBS trained and certified.
Any person performing any one of these functions on an ABC licensed premises is considered a “server” under the regulations who must be certified in the RBS program. Note that an ABC licensed premises can be a permanent licensed facility or just a “one-day” special permit licensed facility.
Special rules apply to Managers and there must always be a certified Manager on site at every licensed location serving alcohol.
2. Who is exempt from the RBS training?
Anyone whose primary or occasional job duties do not fall under the definition of an alcohol server or manager or does not perform any of the duties as defined above as the service of alcoholic beverages for consumption is exempt from mandated RBS training under AB1221. This means that if an employee is designated as an assistant manager (for example, for a late evening shift) that person must be qualified as a Manager. (The ABC notes, however, that RBS Training can be completed by any person who wishes to do so under the statewide program.)
3. Must the staff of a licensed alcohol distributor/wholesaler, or a winery, brewery, or distillery, who provides trainings to bars and restaurants, etc. on how to feature the products for marketing purposes need to be RBS certified to provide this on-premises training?
The answer is generally “No”. An employee or contractor of another separate ABC Licensee training alcohol servers for marketing or distribution purposes are exempt from RBS training. However, where the distributor employee participates in an on-premises promotion as part of a training program for servers and serves a customer, that employee must be certified. This is a nuance that will create issues for the state’s supplier licensees.
4. Do academic instructors at a college or university teaching a beer or wine course where the beer or wine is tasted need to be RBS certified?
The instructors need not be RBS trained and certified because they are not serving to the public for consumption at an ABC licensed premises. (The ABC, however, recommends all persons who serve alcohol for consumption voluntarily complete the certification.)
5. Do salon or barbershop owners/stylists, who provide their customers with a complementary beer or wine at the salon/barbershop (that is not an ABC licensed premises) and/or their staff need to have RBS certification?
The answer is “No”. The employees of a salon or barbershop need not be RBS certified because they are not serving the public. (Again however, the ABC recommends all persons who serve alcohol for consumption voluntarily complete the certification.)
6. Do people pouring alcohol at charitable events need to be certified?
The ABC Addressed this question (all charitable and similar events are conducted under the authority of a “daily on-sale license”) in its latest entry on the RBS website:
Does AB-1221 apply to person(s) obtaining daily on-sale licenses?
Yes. For anyone obtaining a daily on-sale license, at least one person must be RBS trained and certified. This designee must be present at the event and actively oversee the alcohol service for the entire duration of the event. Additionally, this designee must also create and implement policies for the event that mandate and foster responsible alcoholic beverage service.
The 60-day grace period exemption for not having an alcohol server certification is not applicable to daily licenses.
Even this clarification raises more questions. For example, what does “must also create and implement policies” mean?
Conclusion – Stay Tuned Because More Nuances and Q&A’s are Coming
This blog is dedicated to occasional (and hopefully interesting) reports of state and national alcoholic beverage regulatory developments that we encounter in our practice. Booze Rules (and any comments below) are intended for informational use only and are not to be construed as legal advice. If you need legal advice please consult with your counsel.