Question regarding ID for alcohol purchases

[snugglegirl05]

I have a question regarding valid forms of ID for alcohol purchases.

If the state you live in does not prohibit certain forms of ID from being used to purchase alcohol, but your employer does, who do you follow, and how do you follow that?

[Crai]

So long as the Employeer is not breaking the Law follow them. Its on there heads if they get in trouble. If you dont follow thier rules and something goes wrong your at fault.


Point in case any ID is fine but they say State ID is required. Go with the higher requierment. It really is to cover you.

[wolfie]

If state law says "This ID is acceptable" and employer says "No it isn't", then it isn't. If state law says "Don't take this ID" and employer says "That ID is fine", don't take it.

Your employer can impose tighter restrictions on ID than the state does (e.g. only accepting in-state drivers' licenses as opposed to any U.S. driver's license - probably to avoid a form of ID that servers wouldn't see very often, and therefore wouldn't be able to tell if it's a fake), but they can't allow the use of a form of ID that the state law says isn't good for booze purchcases.

[CyberLurch]

The easiest way to remember is: So long as your employer and the state agree that a certain form of ID is acceptable, you're golden. ANY other combination is a no-no.

[EricKei]

Aye, what wolfie said. The company can choose to me more stringent than the Feds or the state, just not less stringent.

[TheSHAD0W]

Just have to chime in; people don't have the right to purchase alcohol from your store, and the store isn't under any obligation to sell it to them. They can claim racial discrimination or sex discrimination, but not ID discrimination.

[Thana]

If your state allows VALID state ID, driver's license, military ID and/or college student ID as allowable forms for purchasing alcohol, BUT your job only allows VALID state ID or driver's license....then you follow you job's rules. If your state allows what I listed above but your job also allows passport or birth certificate (I have seen people try this...why they're carrying it around idk), go with state requirements and side-eye the hell out of your job.

[bainsidhe]

In my state, the employee themselves can be fined up to $10K for not following state law. And breaking your job's policy can result in no job. For that reason, I'd do as others suggest and make sure to obey the rules where the state & employer are in agreement. If they both don't agree, don't accept that form of ID.

[raudf]

I was told to "Always follow the stricter of the two, because then the law is always on your side. The company can only fire you, but the state can fine you and maybe put you in jail if you don't. Also, if you get fired because the company is the less strict of the two, you need to contact the state board governing tobacco and booze, because they're breaking the law."

[Argus]

One possible exception: A state's non-driving ID card is considered as good as a driver's license for anything that doesn't involve driving. Whether or not state law makes that explicit, the ADA can lead to massive penalties for any business that insists on treating those differently. (If you work for such a business, make sure you have that policy in writing; otherwise, they'll throw you under the bus.)

[BrenDAnn]

What raudf said. All I can think is, what if an undercover person comes in to perform a sting, using one of the forms of ID your company says not to take? It might be a rare, off chance, but it could happen, couldn't it? Then again, I suppose as lng as you refused the sale one way or another, you'd be fine in that situation. Still... I'd go with what raudf said. If your employer wants to pitch a fit, explain that you're simply following state law. If they want to write you up... let them. You're still following the law.

[Difdi]

If your state allows VALID state ID, driver's license, military ID and/or college student ID as allowable forms for purchasing alcohol, BUT your job only allows VALID state ID or driver's license....then you follow you job's rules. If your state allows what I listed above but your job also allows passport or birth certificate (I have seen people try this...why they're carrying it around idk), go with state requirements and side-eye the hell out of your job.

Passports are state-issued ID, since the state in that phrase is the definition of state that is synonymous with the word government.

As for why people use passports as ID, there's several good reasons to do so. First, in many states, driver licenses (or the non-driving equivalent) have to be renewed much more often than a passport and as a result are more expensive to maintain. Second, a driver license is ten times easier to forge than a passport, and forging a passport carries MUCH stiffer criminal penalties (so encountering a fake passport is RARE). Third, a driver license has lots of things on it that identity thieves would love to get ahold of, but a passport does not.

There's also a somewhat less good reason to use a passport -- if you're concerned about police harassment (for good reason or out of paranoia), the feds guard their passport database a lot better than a state does its ID database. Using a passport as ID circumvents the most common ways a cop who is having a bad day (or holding a grudge against you) can use those databases to screw with you in person.

[greek_jester]

Another good reason to use your passport; you're a non-American on holiday, and they wouldn't recognise your country's driving licence!

[Nunavut Pants]

Passports are state-issued ID, since the state in that phrase is the definition of state that is synonymous with the word government.

So is the HSPD13-compliant badge I was issued as a government contractor back in ~2002. Had a much more thorough vetting process than getting a passport or driver's license. But neither airline personnel nor TSA personnel would accept it as valid ID for traveling. Despite it being basically the same badge the TSA folks had...

I can see not accepting it for proof of age, though, as there is no birthdate listed on it. (He says, bringing us back in the direction of the original topic.)