14-year-olds could serve restaurant customers alcohol under a new bill in the Wisconsin Legislature
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MADISON - Teenagers as young as 14 could serve restaurant diners alcohol in Wisconsin under a new bill released Monday.
Current law requires an employee of a bar or restaurant be at least 18 years old to serve cocktails, wine or beer to customers. A new bill circulated Monday by Sen. Rob Stafsholt, R-New Richmond, and Rep. Chanz Green, R-Grandview, would allow teenage employees between 14 and 17 serve alcohol to seated customers only.
Bill authors Stafsholt and Green said in a memo to colleagues the current age requirement "causes workforce issues due to an establishment’s underage employees only being able to do part of their job."
"Wisconsin is already having severe workforce shortage issues, specifically in the food and beverage industry," the lawmakers wrote in the memo.
Wisconsin would be the only state in the country to allow teen workers under the age of 16 to serve alcohol, according to the National Institutes of Health. Only two states in the country, Maine and West Virginia, allow bar and restaurant employees under the age 18 to serve alcohol. In both states, you must be 16 or 17.
In Wisconsin, the minimum age to work in a restaurant is 14. Anyone under the age of 16 must have a work permit to be employed.
According to the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, teen workers under the age of 16 are not allowed to cook over open flames, bake, use deep fryers, rotisseries, broilers, or handle grease and oil.
Tavern League of Wisconsin spokesman Scott Stenger said the organization supports the legislation.
Kristine Hillmer, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, said the group was not involved in the drafting of the bill and is reviewing it to understand its impact.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin bill allows 14-year-olds to serve alcohol in restaurants
