ORS 471.341: Mandatory clerk training course for employees of off-premises sales licensees; rules; fees; civil penalty.

(1) An employee of an off-premises sales licensee who has been found by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission to have sold alcoholic beverages to a minor, or to have failed to properly verify identification of a person who purchased alcoholic beverages, must attend a clerk training course approved by the commission as a condition of making sales of alcoholic beverages to members of the public under an off-premises sales license. (2) The commission shall by rule establish times for employees to complete a required clerk training course under this section. An employee required to complete a clerk training course under this section may continue to make sales of alcoholic beverages to members of the public until taking such training, but may not make any sales of alcoholic beverages after the expiration of the time allowed by commission rule if the employee has not completed the training before the expiration of that time. (3) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the holder of an off-premises sales license may not allow an employee who has been found by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission to have sold alcoholic beverages to a minor, or to have failed to properly verify identification of a person who purchased alcoholic beverages, to sell alcoholic beverages under the license unless the employee completes a clerk training course as required by this section. (4) The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, as part of the Alcohol Education Program established under ORS 471.541, shall approve all clerk training courses offered for the purpose of this section. The holder of an off-premises sales license may establish a clerk training course for employees of the licensee, but the course must be approved by the commission to meet the requirements of this section. Clerk training courses approved under this section must address at least the following topics: (a) The importance of not selling alcoholic beverages to minors and visibly intoxicated persons. (b) Guidelines for recognizing minors and visibly intoxicated persons. (c) Guidelines for checking and verifying identification, and for recognizing false or altered identification. (d) Recommended approaches for refusing sales of alcoholic beverages to minors and visibly intoxicated persons. (5) If an employee of an off-premises sales licensee is found to have sold alcoholic beverages to a minor, or to have failed to properly verify identification of a person who purchased alcoholic beverages, the commission shall notify the licensee that the employee must complete a clerk training course approved under this section and may not sell alcoholic beverages to members of the public after the time established by the commission unless the employee completes the training within the time allowed. If the off-premises sales licensee offers a clerk training course to new employees, and the employee has previously completed that course, the requirements of this section may be met by retaking the clerk training course if the course has been approved by the commission for the purposes of this section. (6) Upon completion of a clerk training course by an employee of an off-premises sales licensee pursuant to the requirements of this section, the off-premises sales licensee that employs the person must notify the commission in writing that the employee has successfully completed the training. The notification must include the name and address of the employee, the name of the clerk training course attended by the employee, and the date or dates on which the course was attended. The notification shall be kept by the commission in the licensee’s file. (7) The commission shall assess and collect a fee not to exceed $13 from each person required to attend a clerk training course under this section. Amounts collected under this section shall be used for the administrative expenses incurred by the commission in the performance of the commission’s duties under the Alcohol Education Program. (8) In addition to any other penalty provided for by law, the commission may impose a civil penalty against any employee of an off-premises sales licensee who sells alcoholic beverages to members of the public and who is prohibited from making those sales under this section. A civil penalty under this subsection may not exceed $500. Civil penalties under this subsection shall be imposed by the commission in the manner provided by ORS 183.745. [1999 c.1062 §§3,9; 2001 c.785 §15; 2021 c.351 §85]