What are minimum-age-of-seller policies and how do they work?

• Age of seller policies require that servers and clerks at alcohol establishments be of a minimum age in order to serve or sell alcohol.
  
• State laws specify a minimum age for employees who sell or serve alcoholic beverages in a licensed establishment.
  
• In most states, seller/servers of alcohol must be at least 18 but younger employees may be allowed to stock coolers with alcohol, bag purchased alcohol, or clear alcoholic beverages from tables. (1)
  
• A few states (for example, Alabama, Alaska, Indiana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma) require that servers in bars be of legal minimum drinking age of 21. (1)
  
• In some states where the minimum age of server/seller is lower than the legal minimum drinking age (21), a city or town can pass a local ordinance that requires sellers and servers to be at least 21. (1)
  

• Several studies indicate that younger employees are more likely to sell to underage youth and intoxicated patrons than older employees. (2-5) Minimum-age-of-seller policies may reduce the likelihood that underage people will obtain alcohol from peers working at alcohol establishments.

ISSUE: In some states, cities and towns may be prohibited by state law from passing ordinances that raise the minimum-age-of-seller in their communities.
RESPONSE: In these states, communities can put pressure on the state legislature to remove restrictions on age-of-seller laws. In addition, communities can work with individual alcohol merchants to establish internal age-of-seller policies for their establishments as permitted by law.

ISSUE: Young people ages 18 to 20 make up a significant part of the work force. Retailers may oppose age-of-seller policies because they may limit the pool of potential employee, and community members may oppose these policies because they don't want to limit jobs for young people.
RESPONSE: An establishment may benefit from hiring only persons 21 or older because this group may be more responsible and reliable, thus reducing an establishment's potential liability. And in a national survey of adults, 80% said they were in favor of laws requiring severs to be at least 21 years of age. (5)

ISSUE: Even employees who are 21 or older may sell to their underage friends.
RESPONSE: In addition to minimum-age-of-seller policies, it is important that employees receive responsible beverage service training and are monitored for compliance with laws prohibited sales to underage patrons.

Note : Community members are strongly urged to consult with a local attorney to learn about state law requirements before attempting to pass a local ordinance on minimum age of seller.

Policies that set or raise the minimum-age-of-seller should be combined with other policies aimed at reducing the availability of alcohol to underage youth adn reducing sales to intoxicated patrons, such as:

• Age identification policies (see checking age identification policy)
  
• Bans or restrictions of home deliveries (see home delivery restrictions policy)
  
• Responsible beverage server training programs (see responsible beverage service training policy)
  
• Internal compliance checks (see compliance checks policy)
  

St. Paul, Minnesota passed a local ordinance that prohibits the employment of minors under age 18 in businesses where alcohol is sold for consumption on the premises, except where: (1) the person under 18 is employed as musicians or in bussing or washing dishes in a restaurant or hotel, or (2) the person under 18 is employed in restaurant or hotel where only wine is sold, provided that the person under age 18 does not server or sell wine (St. Paul, Minnesota Ordinance §409.08). Under Minnesota state law, no local ordinance can be enacted that prohibits 18- to 20-year-olds from entering an establishment to perform work, including selling or serving alcoholic beverages (Minnesota Statute §340A.503).

References:

1. Westlaw Statutory Databases. West Group, Eagen, MN Accessed on 8/02 online at: www.westlaw.com
   
2. Forster, J.L., Murray, D.M., Wolfson, M., Wagenaar, A.C. Commercial availability of alcohol to young people: Results of alcohol purchase attempts. Preventive Medicine, 24:342-347, 1995.
   
3. Forster, J.L., McGovern, P.G., Wagenaar, A.C., Wolfson, M., Perry, C.L., Anstine, P.S. The ability of young people to purchase alcohol without age identification in northeastern Minnesota, USA. Addiction, 89:699-705, 1994.
   
4. Wolfson, M., Wagenaar, A.C., Hornseth, G.W. Law officers' views on enforcement of the minimum drinking age: A four-state study. Public Health Reports, 110(4):428-438, 1995.
5. Freisthler, B., Gruenewald, P.J., Treno, A.J., Lee, J. Evaluating alcohol access and the alcohol environment in neighborhood areas. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 27(3):477-84, 2003.
   
6. Wagenaar, A.C., Harwood, E.M., Toomey, T.L., Denk, C.E., Zander, K.M. Public opinion on alcohol policies in the United States: Results from a national survey. Journal of Public Health Policy, 21(3):303-27, 2000.

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• Commercial Access to Alcohol
• Reducing Sales to Intoxicated Patrons