According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, there is no law requiring a bartender to report a drunken-driver.

In some states it's wrongful discharge to fire a worker for reporting a crime. That's one of the limited exceptions to the "employment at will" rule.

davidphogan: Isn't it illegal to serve someone you know is already drunk anyway pretty much everywhere?  I know at least in some states the bar owner could use that as a reason to fire her.  She admitted serving an already visibly intoxicated guy more beer, why not just say that you were scared of the liability of keeping a bartender on who knowingly gave someone who was already drunk more alcohol?

Yeah, but I've never understood that.  When I was in college and living in downtown DC, we'd be hammered every weekend and no one ever said "we can't serve you."  Some of us would pass out at the bar, nap for two hours, then wake up and start all over again.

davidphogan: Isn't it illegal to serve someone you know is already drunk anyway pretty much everywhere?  I know at least in some states the bar owner could use that as a reason to fire her.  She admitted serving an already visibly intoxicated guy more beer, why not just say that you were scared of the liability of keeping a bartender on who knowingly gave someone who was already drunk more alcohol?

The manager is an honest man, obviously.

FTA: Bartenders are prohibited from serving an intoxicated person and could be held liable for any crash or injury that results, though.

Also FTA: "He said, 'I'm going to have to fire you, because it's bad for business to have a bartender that will call the cops,'" DeVito said.


Someone needs to remind the bartender's former boss that it would be far worse if the drunken driver caused an accident that resulted in someone's death. The family of the deceased would have every right to sue the bar into oblivion.

.167? Pfft, amateur. I blew .26 at the jail.

At least that coont won't bartend ever again.

Google search: "Twyla DeVito"

Bathia_Mapes: FTA: Bartenders are prohibited from serving an intoxicated person and could be held liable for any crash or injury that results, though.

Also FTA: "He said, 'I'm going to have to fire you, because it's bad for business to have a bartender that will call the cops,'" DeVito said.


Someone needs to remind the bartender's former boss that it would be far worse if the drunken driver caused an accident that resulted in someone's death. The family of the deceased would have every right to sue the bar into oblivion.

Mheh, if she did nothing to avert his leaving, that would be like giving a toddler a loaded gun and she should be liable.

I'm sure that if she told him she would call the cops he would have made other arraingments.

Bathia_Mapes: FTA: Bartenders are prohibited from serving an intoxicated person and could be held liable for any crash or injury that results, though.

Also FTA: "He said, 'I'm going to have to fire you, because it's bad for business to have a bartender that will call the cops,'" DeVito said.


Someone needs to remind the bartender's former boss that it would be far worse if the drunken driver caused an accident that resulted in someone's death. The family of the deceased would have every right to sue the bar into oblivion.

1) what kind of ASSHOLE fires someone for looking out for public safety?
2) what kind of VET drives drunk and then gets someone fired over it??

And the whole "not serving a drunk person", my guess is that there isnt a bar in the country that hasnt served a drunk person today.  Some of us cab or walk to bars. Why is there an issue about us getting drunk? IT IS WHAT HAPPENS when you drink in bars ... LOL

PreMortem: I'm sure that if she told him she would call the cops he would have made other arraingments.

mhmm
like it is her job to deal with every rude and deadly drunk?
FTA: she tried to slow down serving him ... this guy was a regular

my guess is that this guy has been a tool for a long time. she tried to stop him and slow serve him. probably tried to talk the keys out of him this time or before. my guess is that he will get off with a warning.
fark em

In Mass, we can be charged and held liable if we DON'T call. And for serving them over the limit, and letting them go, we can be held accountable in civil suits as well.

Then again, Mass is full of dirty Commie Pinkos, so there is that. Taking a man's keys, it's like living in the USSR...

hubiestubert: In Mass, we can be charged and held liable if we DON'T call. And for serving them over the limit, and letting them go, we can be held accountable in civil suits as well.

Then again, Mass is full of dirty Commie Pinkos, so there is that. Taking a man's keys, it's like living in the USSR...

so therefore, bars are required to have breathalyzers right? every drinker must be tested before they get served a drink. right?
rationally, that would be the only way for this law to work.

Otherwise, I could walk in drunkover the limit. Get served. Walk out and trip. Then sue?
LOL

I love laws which are just make-work for lawyers.
Unless there it's a felony with prison time behind it, most of these laws are pretty much ignored.

I feel so much safer

davidphogan: Isn't it illegal to serve someone you know is already drunk anyway pretty much everywhere?  I know at least in some states the bar owner could use that as a reason to fire her.  She admitted serving an already visibly intoxicated guy more beer, why not just say that you were scared of the liability of keeping a bartender on who knowingly gave someone who was already drunk more alcohol?

The troll headline makes it sound like she just reported him for being drunk. She reported him for trying to drive drunk.

Who actually cares if somebody gets drunk? But drunk driving gets everybody's panties in a twist. Maybe for good reason. I'm not smart enough to make that determination.

As a former Tavern owner in Washington State, the following statements make me cringe.

"I came into work, he was already there, pretty much hammered," DeVito said.
and
"He ordered a beer, I gave it to him, and then I started to try to slow it down, serving him," DeVito said

thermo: As a former Tavern owner in Washington State, the following statements make me cringe.

"I came into work, he was already there, pretty much hammered," DeVito said.
and
"He ordered a beer, I gave it to him, and then I started to try to slow it down, serving him," DeVito said

given that it was illegal for her to serve him, why didnt she call her boss and report the earlier bartender for breaking the law. Inform the owner that if he doe .....

oh nevermind
the owner/boss clearly was knowingly breaking the law and was upset with her for not breaking the law.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
time to start calling the cops on a daily basis and reporting this bar for breaking the law.
them bartenders need to be arrested!!!

/sigh

Ok, so this was at a place that would seem to be a tight-knit community.

Rather than call the cops, call him a cab? Ask someone sober to drive him home?

Bathia_Mapes: FTA: Bartenders are prohibited from serving an intoxicated person and could be held liable for any crash or injury that results, though.

Also FTA: "He said, 'I'm going to have to fire you, because it's bad for business to have a bartender that will call the cops,'" DeVito said.


Someone needs to remind the bartender's former boss that it would be far worse if the drunken driver caused an accident that resulted in someone's death. The family of the deceased would have every right to sue the bar into oblivion.

No, the family would have some legal options to do this.

There is no moral or implied right, though. That's like saying the Blacksmith who made the nails that someone put into a board that you stepped on and got tetnus and died is liable.

Don't support broken systems.

doglover: There is no moral or implied right, though. That's like saying the Blacksmith who made the nails that someone put into a board that you stepped on and got tetnus and died is liable.

Don't support broken systems.

Horrible analogy. First off, the bar owner didn't make the alcohol. And he didn't just put random shots on the bar that you just accidentally consumed.

Again, as a former Tavern owner, firing her by saying (FTA):
According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, there is no law requiring a bartender to report a drunken-driver.
Bartenders are prohibited from serving an intoxicated person and could be held liable for any crash or injury that results, though.

I'm ok with that

But then saying:'I'm going to have to fire you, because it's bad for business to have a bartender that will call the cops,'

Um, not so much

jaylectricity: the bar owner didn't make the alcohol

You don't know this. He's supplying it anyway.

If someone sells you a weapon, and you use that weapon to rob a bank, they SHOULD NOT be held accountable. It's a disgusting perversion of the concept of justice that removes personal responsibility from the drunk driver.

You'll never remove all the threats from life. You have to draw the line somewhere. When you buy alcohol, the responsibility should be YOURS to keep your shiat together, not the legal vendor of a legal product's.

namatad: PreMortem: I'm sure that if she told him she would call the cops he would have made other arraingments.

mhmm
like it is her job to deal with every rude and deadly drunk?
FTA: she tried to slow down serving him ... this guy was a regular

my guess is that this guy has been a tool for a long time. she tried to stop him and slow serve him. probably tried to talk the keys out of him this time or before. my guess is that he will get off with a warning.
fark em

So he was rude and a tool, huh? Didn't get that from TFA. Your opinion sounds...biased.

And while she said she "tried to slow him down", that implies she just couldn't help herself. She obviously had no problem with the extra tips. She could have cut him off as soon as she arrived but chose not to.

The woman deserves to be fired and I'm glad she'll never serve again.

And what country do you live in where people get off with a warning for DUI?

WTF ever happened to personal responsibility? You drink yourself to drunkenness and drive, that should be on you alone. You went to a bar to drink and you drank the drinks you ordered, you aren't a kid, your judgement is impaired by your own willful actions. Bartenders should not be required to cut someone off, or call the cops, their job is slinging drinks, not babysitting. When they do call in a drunk driver they certainly shouldn't be fired, they need to get home safely too, after work, and they saw the way you danced with the 900 lb woman. They know you better than a breathalyzer.

Dammed if you do, dammed if you don't.

A Terrible Human: I've never understood the appeal of bars. When I drink I want to get drunk,not socialize with a bunch of other drunk assholes or pay a premium for shots when I could go to a liquor store and buy my own damned bottle.

Well it's for getting drunk, socializing, and getting laid. It's for the same reason people go to parties except that it's on demand.

The 4chan Psychiatrist: violentsalvation: WTF ever happened to personal responsibility?

It was litigated into the ground.

Meaning, it's pockets weren't deep enough.

JesusJuice: Yeah, it sucks, but of course her boss fired her. What else could he do? I sure as hell wouldn't go to any bar where the bartender called the cops on me just for trying to drive home. He's running a business.

Perhaps if he hadn't fired her, no one would ever have known she called the cops.

But firing her is great PR.  Now everyone knows that he protects drunks and drunk drivers. Business will boom.  Sure, the liquor control folks could go undercover and bust him for over-serving.  But that's not going to happen to a VFW bar.

vinniethepoo: thermo: Again, as a former Tavern owner, firing her by saying (FTA):
According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, there is no law requiring a bartender to report a drunken-driver.
Bartenders are prohibited from serving an intoxicated person and could be held liable for any crash or injury that results, though.

I'm ok with that

But then saying:'I'm going to have to fire you, because it's bad for business to have a bartender that will call the cops,'

Um, not so much

Why do you keep capitalizing the word "tavern"? It isn't a proper name.


It's a gesture of reverence for a religious institution, ninny.

Insurgent: BarkingUnicorn: JesusJuice: Yeah, it sucks, but of course her boss fired her. What else could he do? I sure as hell wouldn't go to any bar where the bartender called the cops on me just for trying to drive home. He's running a business.

Perhaps if he hadn't fired her, no one would ever have known she called the cops.

But firing her is great PR.  Now everyone knows that he protects drunks and drunk drivers. Business will boom.  Sure, the liquor control folks could go undercover and bust him for over-serving.  But that's not going to happen to a VFW bar.

this is an American Legion Post. a bunch of vets that regularly get together to drink and commiserate. of course they would have found out. and they'd probably be pissed.

If the cops told him, "The bartender called us about you."

If only there were some kind of service you could call to have them pick you up and drive you home for a small fee in return.

The bar I used to work at kept an off duty cop on the premises just for this purpose. He patrolled the parking lot, and if he saw anyone who looked drunk getting into their car, he'd walk up and tell them that if they started the car, they'd be arrested and he strongly suggested they call a cab.

We would alert him to anyone we thought was drinking too much. It worked beautifully.

This woman though? Clearly didn't have the kind of support from the owner to have something like that in place. She did the right thing. And no one knows if she tried to warn him first or tried to take his keys away or call a cab. I had folks get belligerent with me over that many times. It was helpful to know that I didn't have to keep arguing with stupid drunk folks- I could just let the officer deal with them.

MNguy: The law in MN is you can't serve an obviously intoxicated person.

Which is retarded.

A far better plan would be to accept the REASON people drink is to get drunk with friends and put in place systems that make it very easy to get really drunk without a car and really problematic to do so with one.

Basically punishment of anyone but the culprit will never work, and punishing the culprit will only retaliate, never prevent. Much like chain mail gloves for a butcher or goggles for a chemist, safety from crime must be passive and prevent injury from happening in the first place. The price-tag on the surgery to re-attach your finger won't save it from being cut off in the first place.

Tokyo's all armored up with enough trains, buses, taxis, and crash pads that you'd need try VERY hard to get a DUI there. Western PA, on the other hand, is so spread out you have to drive to get to bars in the first place and beer outranks water in popularity. There's no good way to to add in light rail or make people drink less, so another passive solution must be found.

I think, for places where you have to drive to drink, there should be an amnesty hour. One hour a day where DUI isn't going to get you pulled over. It's still a crime, but only if you cause an accident. You drive home responsibly and cause no trouble and no one prosecutes ya. It'll keep sober people off the road then, too. That's my plan. It's not a good one yet, but for off the cuff? Not a bad solution.

every week of my life until age 18 there was Dad coming home from the VFW hammered to the gills. wake up the whole house, start shiat with my batshiat insane Mom, the volume on this one went to 11. it was great when we were very young. you simply live in fear.

so what. when it wasn't the VFW it was the American Legion, my uncle's house, a bar or just getting wicked smashed at home. this probably took place all over town and all across the country. real life isn't Mayberry RFD.

PreMortem:

I'm sure that if she told him she would call the cops he would have made other arrangements.

This. What the bartender did was "shiatty" - regardless of what unknown circumstance would become of the patron driving home. Cut the idiot off, offer to call him a cab, ask for his or her car key. There are way less passive-aggressive things to do other than be a damn FINK.