Bartender Fired For Alerting Police To Drunken Patron Getting Behind Wheel

[jnelsoninjax]

SHELBY, Ohio - A local bartender got fired from her job for calling police and alerting them to a drunken patron who was getting behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Twyla DeVito said she was proud to work at the American Legion Post in Shelby.

?They do a look of good for this community, for our veterans,? DeVito said.

Her tenure at the bar came to an abrupt end last week.

?I came into work, he was already there, pretty much hammered,? DeVito said.

DeVito said that the man was a regular at the bar and also served as an officer at the Legion Post.

?He ordered a beer, I gave it to him, and then I started to try to slow it down, serving him,? DeVito said.

She said that when he went to leave, she knew he was not in a state to drive.

?I called the police and said, ?We have a very drunk person leaving the bar. He is going to kill someone or himself,?? the former bartender said.

Shelby Police Chief Charlie Roub said that one of his officers quickly located the driver and came to the same conclusion.

According to the police report, Mike Ramey blew a 0.167.

?That?s a little over twice the legal limit,? Roub said.

Ramey was arrested and charged with drunken-driving.

Two days later, DeVito said that she got a call from her boss.

?He said, ?I?m going to have to fire you, because it?s bad for business to have a bartender that will call the cops,?? DeVito said.

The commander of the post would not make a comment to 10TV News on camera but said that while DeVito did the right thing morally, she did not do the right thing for the business.

?If every patron who comes in here has to worry about the cops waiting for them when they leave, the place would be empty,? said Mic Hubbard.

Roub said that he was not pleased with that comment.

?Here, we have someone that?s trying to do something right and ends up getting punished for it,? Roub said.

DeVito said she did what she felt she had to do.

?I stand by what I did, and I would do it again,? DeVito said.

According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, there is no law requiring a bartender to report a drunken-driver.

Bartenders are prohibited from serving an intoxicated person and could be held liable for any crash or injury that results, though.

Source

[Marshall Veteran]

I commend the bartender for calling the cops, as she was trying to save lives.

On the flip side, the boss/owner doesn't care about such things, he's greedy and only wants profit. Quite sad.

[leesmithg]

Well once anyone has got more than 35mg of alcohol in their blood then they're intoxicated and in Britain over the legal drive limit.

So by this,

Bartenders are prohibited from serving an intoxicated person and could be held liable for any crash or injury that results, though.

The bar keep should be serving them no more than 1.5 pints of larger proof 4.4% or no more than a large glass of white wine.

I went to the Pub Xmas eve with my buds from a club and I drank 6 pints of Guinness.

I should have been stopped at 1.5 pints, but wasn't.

I don't drive, I walk everywhere.

So why then do the pub trade ignore this fact.

The bar keep should sue her employer, she did the right thing.

Though if she kept serving the man beer, she did the wrong thing also.

[spenser.d]

That's ridiculous. There shouldn't be any tolerance for drunk driving and people should be commended for this. I'd love to know how her boss would have felt if this guy would've plowed over a family member of his.

[pes2013]

You have to understand the boss's point of view...

Having said that, she did the right thing and should do it again. I applaud her.

[streetw0lf]

It seems she served a drunk patron (hammered as she stated) which is against the law according to the article. She should have refused to serve him. She only added to the problem.

[Nashy]

How is this not unfair dismissal?

[Lexcyn]

Where I am in Canada if the bar owner doesn't enforce these rules (ie: calling the cops on drunken fools trying to drive), he/she will lose the liquor license plus get a huge fine and usually that means the bar will be shut down.

[spenser.d]

You have to understand the boss's point of view...

Having said that, she did the right thing and should do it again. I applaud her.

I do understand it and it makes me think he shouldn't be allowed to run a bar.

[Steven P. Administrators]

Wow, "doing the right thing" loses :/ Although it's more of a pain that this couldn't have been an anonymous tip off I suppose.

[jakem1]

How is this not unfair dismissal?

Maybe they don't have unfair dismissal laws in Ohio.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

this is happening way too often lately. people getting fired for doing the right thing that is

[Dot Matrix]

So, potentially loosing a customer due to death from drunken driving is bad for business?

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

So, potentially loosing a customer due to death from drunken driving is bad for business?

It's all about money and apparently, people are more likely to drink at a bar if they can get away with drunk driving. I despise drunk driving and if I were the owner of that bar, I'd praise the bartender for potentially saving lives.

[Rohdekill]

She has zero grounds as far as suing. Ohio is a work at will state, unless she specifically requested an employment contract. Such a thing would never happen for a bartender position.

?Employment at will? means that, unless you agree otherwise with your employer, either you or your employer may terminate the employment relationship at any time for any reason that does not contradict the law. If you do not get an employment agreement for a specific period of time, you will be an ?at will? employee and can be terminated at any time. By the same token, as an at-will employee, you are free at any time to leave a job you no longer want in order to take a better position.

The employer broke no law in terminating her employment. Yes, her situation is unfair, as is life. But legally she has no recourse.

[theyarecomingforyou]

You have to understand the boss's point of view...

No. There is no excuse for facilitating criminal acts, especially when they put the lives of others at risk. Businesses exist to make money but that's no excuse for such disgusting and immoral behaviour. She should have got a promotion for what she did.

She has zero grounds as far as suing. Ohio is a work at will state, unless she specifically requested an employment contract. Such a thing would never happen for a bartender position.

The employer broke no law in terminating her employment. Yes, her situation is unfair, as is life. But legally she has no recourse.

That's disgusting. It must be pretty sickening to live in a place that treats you as nothing more than a commodity.

[Rohdekill]

That's disgusting. It must be pretty sickening to live in a place that treats you as nothing more than a commodity.

Just about every state in the US is a work at will state. There's no way an employer could possibly account for every possible action and place it in their employee rule guidelines. It allows the employer to protect the integrity/reputation of the company against unforeseen employee action.

On the same token, it also frees the employee to seek employment elsewhere as employers seem to love to add miscellaneous items onto job descriptions after hiring. This frees you from a binding contract.

[DavidM]

Wait, wait, wait, this bartender served a drunk patron and THEN called the cops when he left? You guys really think this is the RIGHT thing to do?

Why did she serve or continue to serve an intoxicated patron? Why not call a cab and charge it to the bar? What was his B.A.C. - BEFORE she continued to serve him?

If she REFUSED service and felt he was a drunk driver then by all means call the police and take a drunk driver off the road, but for FS, don't add to the guys problem and THEN get him arrested.

I wonder if he gave her a tip?

[theyarecomingforyou]

Just about every state in the US is a work at will state. There's no way an employer could possibly account for every possible action and place it in their employee rule guidelines. It allows the employer to protect the integrity/reputation of the company against unforeseen employee action.

It allows companies to treat their employees like dirt and dismiss people without any just cause, as evidenced by this case. Employees shouldn't have to fear that they could lose their jobs at any moment, especially for calling the police to report a crime. What a horrible culture.

[The Laughing Man]

Just about every state in the US is a work at will state. There's no way an employer could possibly account for every possible action and place it in their employee rule guidelines. It allows the employer to protect the integrity/reputation of the company against unforeseen employee action.

On the same token, it also frees the employee to seek employment elsewhere as employers seem to love to add miscellaneous items onto job descriptions after hiring. This frees you from a binding contract.

Sounds like a crappy state to work in. Yet most actually are come to think of it.

[spenser.d]

Wait, wait, wait, this bartender served a drunk patron and THEN called the cops when he left? You guys really think this is the RIGHT thing to do?

Why did she serve or continue to serve an intoxicated patron? Why not call a cab and charge it to the bar? What was his B.A.C. - BEFORE she continued to serve him?

If she REFUSED service and felt he was a drunk driver then by all means call the police and take a drunk driver off the road, but for FS, don't add to the guys problem and THEN get him arrested.

I wonder if he gave her a tip?

Yes it is the right thing to do. It's not a crime to get drunk off your ass and she did slow down on serving him. But it is a crime to get in the car after getting drunk off your ass and the bar isn't liable for that. It's your responsibility to call a cab or a friend, not get behind the wheel.

Now granted there generally are laws stating not to serve overly drunk people, but that's a judgement call, and it still doesn't make a bar or a bar employee responsible for an individual's dumb choices.

[Growled Member]

She did the right thing but sometimes that ain't enough.

[Torolol]

well, she can't gives annonymous tip about drunken driver to the cops,

as such tip that would usualy treated as pranks.

saying she is the barkeep would gives some credibility about the info.

[tiagosilva29]

It's not a crime to get drunk off your ass (...)

Depends on your location.

[Lighthalzen]

She should work in Canada, she would be great here! I feel bad for her though :(

I think she did the right thing and more people should be like her.