An Old Town Portland Bar Sues Its Bartender for $115,000 for Drinking on the Job

     An Oregon bartender whose drinking on the job prompted his employer to have its license temporarily revoked is being sued for $115,000 in lost earnings, The Barrel Room wants Jorstad to pay up: roughly $5,500 per day for the 21 days they can’t sell alcohol. The lawsuit claims that bartender Gunnar Hokan Jorstad was drunk on the job last January while serving customers at the Barrel Room in Oregon.  Jorstad has also been penalized and his service permit suspended for 18 days,  a permit issued by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to employees who serve alcohol in restaurants, taverns, nightclubs, bars, lounges, private clubs, and similar businesses.    

     Commission spokesman Matthew Van Sickle elaborated, saying a police officer noticed Jorstad in a highly intoxicated state outside the bar about 10 p.m. Jan. 13. Five hours later, police were called to remove Jorstad from the bar as he neared the end of a shift that started at 8 p.m., Van Sickle said.

     This is a question I was often faced with here in Key West while bartending here.  It is technically illegal to be drinking while working behind a bar in Florida as well, but I’ve never seen it enforced here.   I would thank the customer for the offer and tell them I was bound by law not to be drinking behind the bar.  My comment to them is that I could not make sure that they didn’t get into trouble if I was as drunk as they were.  It seemed to work, because my customers didn’t get mad over it. 

     Oregon obviously has stricter laws relating to drinking behind the bar than many other states and enforces them.  The reason for both the bar and the bartender being penalized would appear to me anyway, that the bar management as well as the bartender were not paying attention to what was happening on the premises.

Read More at https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2019/01/portland-bar-sues-bartender-for-115000-for-drinking-on-the-job.html