La. Admin. Code tit. 55 § VII-511

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section VII-511 - Responsible Vendor Program Minimum Course Standards

A. Classroom Instruction

1. Alcoholic Beverage and Tobacco Products Classroom Training-must include at least two hours of classroom instruction, exclusive of breaks and examination time, presented in a continuous block of instruction. Classes shall be limited to no more than one 10-minute break per hour.

2. Tobacco Products-must include at least one hour of classroom instruction, exclusive of breaks and examination time, presented in a continuous block of instruction.

B. Computer Based Instruction

1. Alcoholic Beverage and Tobacco Products Online Training-must include:

a. A secure log in and data transfer process to ensure security:

i. a unique log in is required for each server or security personnel that only allows that server or security personnel to access course and exam;

ii. server or security personnel shall not be able to modify first name and last name on user profile;

iii. server or security personnel provides data required by the ATC to issue permits;

iv. encryption, secure socket layer (SSL) or like, for personal information data transfer between website forms and database;

b. course and exam access information is provided to server or security personnel via email and/or directly after point of purchase;

c. online course shall automatically log users out after a minimum of 30 minutes of inactivity. Server or security personnel must be able to start where they left off;

d. online course shall provide a minimum of two hours of course instruction;

e. linear navigation requires participant to view all modules in course. Each the screen or module must be completed before proceeding to the next;

f. servers or security personnel cannot take the exam until the course has been fully completed;

g. a provider shall take extra measures to ensure to deter fraud and verify the identity of each student. Ways to prevent fraudulent course and test taking shall include, but are not limited to:

i. obtaining the log-in and log-off times;

ii. discontinuing an examination if it stays idle after a minimum period of 10 minutes of inactivity;

iii. asking each student personal identifying questions:

a). the server or security personnel must be asked a minimum of ten personal identifying questions before starting the exam;

b). server or security personnel must answer correctly a minimum of 5 randomly selected personal validation questions throughout the exam;

h. exam must be completed in one sitting. If Server or security personnel logs out, server must start over at the beginning of the exam;

i. the time allotted to take the examination shall not exceed 90 minutes;

j. if the time limit is exceeded or personal validation questions are answered incorrectly, the exam shall be reset and server must start over at the beginning of the exam;

k. server or security personnel must enter same exam access information to restart exam after exit;

l. server or security personnel will be allowed two exits from the exam before being locked out. The provider shall take sufficient measures to allow a student to re-access a previously started exam in the case of inadvertent logout;

m. approved providers must rotate the exam questions on a regularly scheduled basis to ensure exam security and validity;

n. the exam must include the 10 required Louisiana responsible vendor questions and then a minimum of 15 questions developed by the provider. The exam provider shall provide a bank from which the provider questions are taken which shall have a minimum of three times the number of items as the number of questions on the exam;

o. a server or security personnel must have adequate access to help desk/customer service during standard business hours to resolve technical issues without delaying the flow of instruction or examination;

p. no provider-based advertisements shall appear during the course of instruction and examination.

C. The approved server or security personnel training course shall be presented in its entirety to each student in a language approved by the program administrator.

D. Each server or security personnel training course must include an examination approved by the program administrator, which is administered by the trainer immediately following the course presentation. Students shall take the examination in writing, unless special circumstances require an oral examination. With the approval of the program administrator, the test may be offered in a language best understood by the student, or bilingual trainers may, in response to direct inquiries, clarify test questions using another language. Each student shall correctly answer at least 70 percent of the examination questions. Students who receive failing scores may be retested once at a time and place to be determined by the trainer. Otherwise, students must repeat the full course for an additional fee.

E. All training facilities shall meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and shall have adequate lighting, seating, easily accessible restrooms, and comfortable room temperature.

F. At the beginning of each server or security personnel training course, the trainer shall give each student:

1. an enrollment agreement that clearly states the obligations of the trainer and student, refund policies, and procedures to terminate enrollment;

2. a notice that a student must complete the course in order to take the examination;

3. a server training and/or a security personnel training workbook, approved by the program administrator, that is current, complete, and accurate. The workbook shall include an outline of the minimum course curriculum, table of contents, titles, subheadings, and page numbers. Physical specifications must meet the following minimum standards:

a. minimum dimensions of paper size must be 8 1/2 by 11 inches;

b. paper stock, excluding front and back cover, shall be white or near white, and of a quality and weight suitable for reproduction and note-taking with no ink bleed through;

c. type must be a minimum of 11-point in a type style commonly used for textbooks and periodicals;

d. binding must firmly hold the pages together in correct order and be sufficient for use during the course and as a reference;

e. professional printing and typesetting are not required, but reproductions must be clear, readable, and letter quality;

f. for ease of reading and adequate room for note-taking, white space must be a minimum of 30 percent per page with the print or copy to be no more than 70 percent of the page.

g. each student must be provided a copy of the applicable training workbook(s), in either paper or electronic format, that the student retains upon completion of sever and/or security personnel training course.

G. No server or security personnel training class shall include more than 100 students and students that arrive more than 15 minutes after the class begins shall not be admitted.

H. The classroom presentation must be consistent with the approved program.

I. Discussions must be pertinent to responsible beverage alcohol or tobacco sales, service, and consumption.

J. The program administrator or their designee may attend any class or computer-based course to evaluate conformance with the program certified by the program administrator.

K. At least seven days in advance, the approved provider or their authorized trainers shall give written notice to the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control of the date, time, and location of all courses scheduled. The Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control shall be notified by phone or fax of course cancellations prior to the course date except when cancellation cannot be anticipated, in which case notification shall be within three business days of the scheduled course date.

L. Minimum Course Standards for Alcoholic Beverage and Tobacco Product Server Training Courses. To be certified to issue a server permit, the provider's course of instruction shall include the subject areas specified in R.S. 26:933(C), as well as the following.

1. Introduction:

a. brief review of the law creating the Louisiana Responsible Vendor Program, which shall include when the program was enacted, who is required to participate and how, when it becomes mandatory, nature of permits issued to server, when server permits expire, obligation of server to attend a course every two years, and server renewal procedures;

b. objectives of the Responsible Vendor Program, which shall include education of vendors, servers, and their customers about responsible sales, service, and consumption of alcohol and tobacco; and prevention of the misuse, illegal use, and abuse of alcohol.

2. Alcoholic beverage and tobacco products course:

a. classification of alcohol as a depressant and its effect on the human body, particularly on the ability to drive a motor vehicle:

i. alcohol is a depressant not a stimulant;

ii. how alcohol travels through the body, including how quickly it enters the bloodstream and reaches the brain;

iii. alcohol's effect on a person's ability to drive a motor vehicle, specifically reviewing alcohol's effect on a person's behavior, self-control, and judgment;

iv. outline of Louisiana's driving while intoxicated laws and penalties for violations;

b. effects of alcohol when taken with commonly used prescription and nonprescription drugs:

i. mixing alcohol with other drugs can produce dangerous side effects. It is especially dangerous to drive under the influence of alcohol and other drugs because of the increased impairment due to both;

ii. alcohol and other depressant drugs. Mixing alcohol with other depressants dangerously increases the depressant effect on the body;

iii. alcohol and stimulants. Stimulants do not cancel the intoxication and impairment due to alcohol;

iv. alone, many prescription and nonprescription drugs impair the ability to drive a motor vehicle;

v. the effects of commonly used prescription and nonprescription drugs;

vi. review of the effects of contemporary designer drugs such as GHB and Rohypnol;

c. absorption rate, as well as the rate at which the human body can dispose of alcohol and how food affects the absorption rate:

i. rate at which the human body absorbs alcohol;

ii. blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and how to estimate a person's BAC. Include drink equivalency guidelines;

iii. how the human body disposes of alcohol;

iv. the effect of food on the absorption rate;

v. time is the only real factor that reduces intoxication;

d. methods of identifying and dealing with underage and intoxicated persons, including strategies for delaying and denying sales and service to intoxicated and underage persons:

i. procedures and methods for detecting false identification;

ii. procedures and methods for denying service or entry to underage persons;

iii. procedures and methods for identifying intoxicated persons including behavioral warning signs and other signs of impairment;

iv. procedures and methods for preventing over intoxication;

v. procedures and methods for terminating service to intoxicated persons;

e. state laws and regulations regarding the sales and service of alcoholic beverages for consumption on or off premises:

i. legal forms of identification in Louisiana;

ii. legal age to purchase, possess, and consume alcohol and penalties for violation;

iii. legal age to enter licensed premises and penalties for violation;

iv. legal age to be employed by a vendor and penalties for violation;

v. acts prohibited on licensed premises and penalties for violation;

f. parish and municipal ordinances and regulations that affect the sale and service of alcoholic beverages for consumption on or off the licensed premises. These provisions will depend on the jurisdiction of the servers attending the class and may vary according to the parish and municipality:

i. legal hours of operation and Sunday sales;

ii. noise, litter, and zoning;

iii. leaving premises with alcohol;

iv. preemption of parish and municipal server training courses;

v. parish or municipal server licensing requirements;

vi. other relevant regulations;

g. state and federal laws and regulations related to the lawful age to purchase tobacco products and age verification requirements:

i. state and federal legal purchasing age;

ii. federal age verification requirements;

iii. state and federal laws and regulations related to vending machines;

iv. state laws related to sign posting requirements;

v. state laws related to minimum packaging requirements.

3. Tobacco Products Course

a. Outline and review of all relevant changes to local, state, and federal laws, rules and regulations affecting the retail operation of tobacco businesses. With regard to local laws, rules and regulations, each approved provider shall determine the changes for each jurisdiction in which it offers Tobacco courses and submit their local tobacco curriculum to the program administrator for approval;

b. state and federal laws and regulations related to the lawful age to purchase tobacco products and age verification requirements:

i. state and federal legal purchasing age;

ii. federal age verification requirements;

iii. state and federal laws and regulations related to vending machines;

iv. state laws related to sign posting requirements;

v. state laws related to minimum packaging requirements;

c. state laws and regulation regarding the sales and service of tobacco products:

i. legal form of identification in Louisiana;

ii. procedures and methods for detecting false identification;

d. guidelines for prevention of tobacco use and addiction:

i. health risks;

ii. addiction problems with adolescents;

iii. health effects of smoking among young people;

e. what you should know about tobacco:

i. tobacco and athletic performance;

ii. tobacco and personal appearance;

f. state laws and regulations regarding the sales and service of the Louisiana Lottery Corporation Law:

i. a review of the Louisiana Lottery Corporation Law, which shall include when it was established;

ii. legal age to purchase a lottery ticket and penalties for violation;

iii. legal age to claim a lottery ticket;

iv. legal age to sell lottery ticket;

v. advertisement;

g. parish and municipal ordinances and regulations that affect the sale and service of tobacco products. These provisions will depend on the jurisdiction of the servers attending the class and may vary according to the parish and municipality.

M. Minimum Course Standards for Security Personnel Training Courses. To be certified to issue a server permit for security personnel, the provider's course of instruction shall include the subject areas specified in R.S. 26:933(C) and (D) and the minimum course standards specified on subsection L of these regulations as well as the following:

1. A description of the role and duties of security personnel that includes the responsibility to monitor the entrance and other areas of an establishment for purposes of identifying underage and intoxicated persons; to enforce the establishment's rules; and to otherwise provide security for the establishment and its customers.

2. A review of the skills that make security personnel more effective including communication skills, self-control, posture, confidence, physical fitness and knowledge of certain laws.

3. Techniques to identify and handle disruptive customers and customer altercations including but not limited to:

a. description of common types of disturbances;

b. techniques to identify and manage potentially disruptive customers;

c. proper procedures to employ when removing a disruptive customer from the premises including common mistakes to avoid; and

d. identification and description of the types of resistance security personnel may encounter when dealing with disruptive customers.

4. Description and review of proper restraint techniques and when to use such techniques including the following:

a. description and review of "positional asphyxia" including techniques to manage "positional asphyxia"; and

b. description and review of "excited delirium" including techniques to manage "excited delirium."

5. Identification and review of state laws related to the duties and responsibilities of security personnel including:

a. simple, second degree and aggravated battery;

b. simple and aggravated assault;

c. false imprisonment;

d. simple and aggravated criminal damage to property;

e. entry on or remaining in places or on land after being forbidden;

f. simple, second degree and armed robbery; and

g. disturbing the peace.

N. Minimum Standards and Certification for an Abbreviated Renewal Course

1. To be certified to conduct abbreviated renewal server training courses, the approved provider's course of instruction shall include the following.

a. An Outline and Review of All Relevant Changes to Local, State, and Federal Laws, Rules and Regulations Affecting the Retail Operation of Alcohol Beverage and or Tobacco Businesses. With regard to local laws, rules and regulations, each approved provider shall determine the changes for each jurisdiction in which it offers abbreviated renewal courses and submit their local renewal course curriculum to the program administrator for approval.

b. Statistics Related to Drunk Driving Arrests, Accidents and Fatalities in Louisiana. The approved provider shall incorporate the statistics into their abbreviated renewal course curriculum in the same form and content that it is provided by the program administrator and compiled from the most current annual report of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission or National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

c. Techniques to Prevent Persons Suspected of Being Intoxicated from Operating Motor Vehicles.

d. Any Other Information Relevant to the Prevention of Drunk Driving.

e. Information Concerning Societal and Health Concerns Related to the Use of Tobacco Products.

2. All abbreviated renewal course program content and method of presentation shall be approved by the Program Administrator prior to conducting any abbreviated renewal server training courses.

3. All abbreviated renewal server training courses shall include at least one hour of classroom instruction exclusive of breaks and examination time, and shall be presented in a continuous block of time.

4. Each abbreviated renewal server training course shall include an examination approved by the program administrator.

5. Prior to teaching an abbreviated renewal server training course, the trainer must receive proof of prior training from the server. This proof may consist of a server permit not having expired for longer than one year, or any other proof deemed valid by the discretion of the trainer.

6. Unless otherwise provided for in this Subsection, all other regulations applicable to regular server training courses shall apply to renewal server training courses.

La. Admin. Code tit. 55, § VII-511

Promulgated by the Department of Revenue, Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, LR 31:940 (April 2005), amended LR 39:1828 (July 2013).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 26:931 et seq.