Restaurants, bars, hotels, and other licensees are asking. How do we comply with the new server training?
There is nothing new for you to do. Restaurants, bars, hotels, and other licensees need to make sure their employees have valid ABC server permit cards, which is already required.
The new law requires training programs to add the new material to their programs in order to stay certified. There is no new training required. No supplemental training. No handouts. No links. Nada.
When server permits expire and servers take the required training class, servers will view the new sexual assault and human trafficking training.
All this talk about teaching reminds us of Van Halen’s ode to education:
I think of all the education that I've missed
But then my homework was never quite like this
Ow! Got it bad, got it bad, got it bad
I'm hot for teacher
Server Permit Expiration: Licensees should be tracking the expiration date for server permits. A best practice is not to schedule shifts for a server, bartender or manager that has not provided a copy of a new server permit by the expiration date.
The new law does not change the expiration date of existing server permits. Server permits issued before January 1, 2025, will continue to expire in five years. Permits issued after January 1, 2025, will expire in two years.
For example, a server permit issued on December 30, 2024, will remain valid for five years. A server permit issued on January 2, 2025, will expire in two years.
Going forward, licensees should track the two-year expiration dates on new server permits. Licensees should continue tracking the five-year expiration date for server permits issued before 2025.
Employees that are not required to hold server permits do not need training.
Server Permits: Beginning January 1, 2025, state-approved training programs must include sexual assault and human trafficking training.
For servers, there is no additional requirement. Servers continue to take the 3.5 hour training class.
The only change for servers is that new server permit cards will only be valid for two years. All ABC server permit cards will remain valid until their stated expiration dates. The new law does not affect the date that existing server permits expire.
Server Training: State-certified training programs must revise their programs to include the additional sexual assault and human trafficking training. Per the new law:
The curriculum must include training to understand the role of alcohol in sexual assault and harassment, best practices for ensuring patron safety and bystander intervention, recognizing the role of drugs in assault, and strategies to prevent patron drugging in establishments. The curriculum must also educate servers on recognizing and reporting signs of human trafficking.
Because server permit programs must be certified by the Tennessee ABC, presumably, server permit programs must be updated and the updated curriculum approved by the ABC. As of January 2, 2025, the ABC's list of approved programs was last updated on August 21, 2024.
We understand that the ABC has approved the new Top Shelf server permit course, which includes the sexual assault and human trafficking training.
Attached is a copy of the statute, with the new sexual assault and human trafficking law.
Liability: The new law does not directly impose any additional requirements for a licensee such as a restaurant, bar or hotel to take additional steps concerning sexual assault and human trafficking. The issue is whether the new law could expose a restaurant, bar or hotel to liability if it does not take additional steps.
Local Nashville TV station WKRN posts: “In the fight against sexual assault in bars, bartenders and servers are sometimes the first line of defense. ‘They make the most contact with the patrons in their bars, and they see and interact, and you can tell when something’s off,’ said Lorraine McGuire from the Sexual Assault Center. Therefore, the Sexual Assault Center helped craft a law to make sure bartenders are trained to spot signs of underreporting crimes in progress.”
We recommend that restaurants and other licensees consider revising policies to address these topics. For example, if a bartender or server believes a guest may have been drugged, the policy could require that a manager be summoned and intervene. We understand there are relatively simple intervention strategies that can prevent many sexual assaults. Hotels in particular may be able to identify and intervene in human trafficking.
With state-mandated training, a restaurant, bar or hotel may be accused of negligence in the event of a sexual assault arising from a drugging at the bar, for example. Having a policy in effect and even minimal training to reinforce the state requirements could be an effective response.
Best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2025.