Assembly Bill 1221 Now Happening
If you are not yet aware, we wanted to introduce you to the "RBS" or Responsible Beverage Service. This statewide certification will soon be required of most on-sale retail hospitality employees. Courses and tests are now open for those of you who want to beat the rush.
This is any employee involved in on-site alcohol service and any manager who manages these employees. Servers, bartenders, barbacks, and security pros who checks IDs– and their managers– must be certified.
Here's an FAQ on the ABC's site. RBS FAQ
Important dates:
July 1, 2022 60-day deadline officially begins
August 31, 2022 all current employees must be certified
60 days after employment all new employees must be certified
There are about 35 companies approved to provide the 4-hour training, some in person, some live online, and some pre-recorded online. It costs between $12 and $25 per person for the training, and the test, which is given by ABC online, is $3.
This is new, and so we unfortunately cannot vouch for any test providers personally, but I went through the list and there were a few that stood out that I wanted to highlight.
1. COMEDY SELLER SERVER - a $12.99 self-paced course that looks.... fun? A company that can make test prep "educational and funny" is right up our alley. We can appreciate this as notaries. Laughing keeps us from crying.
2. CENTRAL COAST RBS - The only provider I see who is retired ABC enforcement. This could be a great opportunity for your staff to meet someone who really understands the ethos of ABC enforcement, and will likely deliver a tailored and effective training to stay on the good side of the ABC officers long-term.
3. GET RBS - Get RBS certified by an Emmy-award winning journalist! The difference between remembering course material and forgetting it immediately is a compelling instructor, and Cristina Mendonsa looks like she can deliver on this.
Many providers do offer discounts for group courses, so if you opt to offer the training to your staff at one time, be sure to ask for that. ABC is also recommending you speak to your HR Attorney about whether you pay staff for the time to take the course or require they do it outside of work hours. See the LICENSEE FAQ on that issue.
As I said, there are others that may suit your business better. Here's a link to all the providers.
I'm sure you'll have a lot of questions as you figure this out. We are here as a resource to help you understand the program. We went to several of the preparation meetings and have good connections with the team behind it at ABC. (They are also the team who helped prep ABC to accept online payments.) The intent of this legislation is to reduce alcohol-related fatalities in California, and similar programs have been effective in other states.
As painful as it is going to be at first, this can be a good training opportunity to help empower your staff to be safe servers and keep the patron shenanigans to a minimum.