Serving alcohol in Wisconsin; bill would allow 14-year-olds to do it
MADISON, Wis. - Fourteen-year-olds in Wisconsin could serve alcohol to seated customers in bars and restaurants under a bill circulated for cosponsors on Monday, May 1 by a pair of Republican state lawmakers.
Under current law, only workers age 18 and above can serve alcohol to customers in Wisconsin. The bill would broaden that to workers ages 14 to 17. They could only serve to seated customers, not drinkers who are at the bar itself.
Right now, those under 18 can work as a server, but there's one thing they can't do.
"They can't transport the alcohol," said Sarah Lundberg, waitress/bartender. "They can take the order, but they can't deliver it, and you know, that is just for their own safety and just, their maturity-wise. Sometimes, they're just not quite mature enough to handle the alcohol aspect of this job."
(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The current age limit on serving alcohol "causes workforce issues due to an establishment’s underage employees only being able to do part of their job," the bill sponsors Sen. Rob Stafsholt, of New Richmond, and Rep. Chanz Green, of Grandview, said in a memo circulated Monday seeking cosponsors.
"With the workforce issues that we’ve been having, it seems a little cumbersome to have yet another person to walk those out there or take the bartender out from behind a bar where people are actively drinking at the bar and walk those out there, so it's a common sense thing, and it really has been asked for by my constituents and the people who own these businesses back home who are having these workforce issues," said Stafsholt.
Sen. Rob Stafsholt
"Maybe they don’t have the life experience or the prudence to determine whether this patron is heavily intoxicated," said FOX6's Jason Calvi.
"I don’t think so. I think our kids are smart kids," said Stafsholt. "From a business owner's perspective, I think they hire people they feel are qualified to make those kinds of decisions, and it goes back to that establishment is licensed, and they are ultimately responsible for that interaction, as well as the licensed bartender."
The bill requires the licensed operator of the bar or restaurant to be on the premises and supervising.
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Alcoholic beverages
Lundberg started serving 22 years ago when she was 18.
"I was shocked because I've trained many servers in my 22 years, and I've trained 16-year-olds, which has been the youngest, and even as a 16-year-old, there's still a certain hesitation when working with the public and talking to the public because this isn't just like hanging out with your friends, and this is your job, and you're dealing with other people in the community, and you definitely need to have the verbiage right and the confidence to go through all of this," said Lundberg.
If this bill becomes law, 14-year-olds could add one more thing to their job requirements.
"The extra people would help, but sometimes, more people isn't always a good thing," said Lundberg. "I mean, it takes many years to get to like a 22-year level. Fourteen-year-olds just quite don't have the mature status to handle the ins and outs of a restaurant."
Although no one under the age of 21 can legally drink alcohol, those under 21 — including minors of any age — in Wisconsin can drink in bars and restaurants if they are with their parents.
If the proposal passes, Wisconsin would have the lowest age limit for workers allowed to serve alcohol, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. West Virginia currently has the youngest age limit in the country at 16.
Alcoholic beverages
The measure is a long way from becoming law. It must pass the Senate and Assembly, both controlled by Republicans and be signed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. His spokesperson Britt Cudaback mocked the proposal Monday, listing numerous initiatives Evers has proposed to address the state's workforce shortage issue including building more housing and funding schools, before forwarding a message detailing the Republican bill.