Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to all of our customers and friends this week! Please see below for our holiday office hours. The online TAM course is still available 24/7 at www.tamnevda.com!
Category: Alcohol Education Cards
New to Nevada? You’ll Need to Get Your Work Cards
Welcome to lovely Las Vegas! Every year, new residents are drawn to Nevada by the chance to work in the vibrant hospitality industry. What they may not know is that there are special local work requirements in many industries. Before working in Nevada in the hotel, gaming, food and beverage industries, you must obtain 3 different cards to show you’ve met certain training and background check requirements – a TAM® Card, a Food Handler Card, and a Work Card. Read on to learn more about each!
- A TAM® Card, also called an alcohol awareness card or a drink card is required for anyone who works at an establishment where they sell or serve alcoholic beverages, and also for security guards. This includes cashiers who check I.D. an
d sell beer and wine products. To get a TAM Card, you take a short alcohol awareness course online or in the classroom at TAM of Nevada. You’ll get your card right after taking your final exam. The process is simple, and TAM employees are in the office six days a week to help you get your card in the most convenient way possible! Enroll in an online or classroom course now. - A Food Handler Card, sometimes also referred to as a Health Card, is required for anyone who works in a food establishment such as a restaurant or bar. This includes kitchen staff, servers, managers, and anyone who could come into contact with food, ice, beverages, utensils, etc. To get a Food Handler Card, you may review online training information at the Nevada Health District website, and then visit their office to take the required test and pick up your card.
- Work Cards, sometimes also referred to as Sheriffs Cards, have been a requirement for employees in the gaming industry since the 1940’s. Employees are required to obtain this card for all positions in a gaming establishment and many other work places. The purpose of the Work Card is to document, investigate and license all employees of the gaming industry. Unlike TAM® and Food Handler Cards, you cannot obtain a Work Card before you have landed a job. Work Cards are issued by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department. You’ll get a work card application from your prospective employer, and will be fingerprinted by the police department as a part of the application process. For more information, visit the LVMPD website.
Good luck in your new position and remember that both TAM and Food Handler Cards expire after a certain number of years. Check your expiration dates and remember to visit the proper offices to repeat training and obtain your replacement cards as needed!
Congrats to the winner of our quarterly Gift Card Giveaway! Have you entered yet?
We here at the TAM® office love hearing from our customers. We value your opinions on our alcohol awareness card courses. Is there something you either loved or disliked about your experience? Any suggestions for which topics you would like to learn more about? Let us know!
If you recently finished an alcohol awareness class with TAM®, don’t forget to complete our online customer survey. As a token of thanks for participation, we enter survey respondents into a quarterly drawing for a $25 Amazon.com gift card prize.
Congratulations to Jacqueline S. of Las Vegas, winner of our most recent quarterly gift card giveaway!
If you are a recent student, you may access the survey and submit your response before our next drawing. Let us know your favorite part of the training, what you’ve learned, your experiences with staff, or ask us any questions you might have.
Our customer satisfaction survey is available to both online and classroom students. Thank you again to all of our customers for choosing TAM® of Nevada for your alcohol awareness cards. Remember to visit us on TAM of Nevada on Facebook and keep the conversation going!
Five Reno Businesses Fail Alcohol Compliance Check
This past Saturday marked Reno’s Wine Walk event, and several businesses were cited for serving minors. The Reno area’s Regional Street Enforcement Team, comprised of area police departments, conducts regular alcohol compliance and TAM Card checks. On Saturday, the Team sent two 19 year-old volunteers out to attempt alcohol purchases at twelve area businesses. This time around, five of the twelve businesses made sales to the minors.
The penalties can be severe. In Nevada, serving alcohol to a minor and allowing a minor into a bar are misdemeanors, with a pre-designated fine of $500. Here are some tips for keeping things safe and legal:
- Get your mandatory TAM® Card and alcohol awareness training. TAM® will train you on how to correctly check identification and how to spot fake, borrowed, or altered ID. Police officers may ask to see your alcohol awareness card during an alcohol compliance check, so it is important to be prepared.
- Check ID very carefully, and look for any inconsistencies. Watch for anyone who seems either nervous, or over confident. When checking the birth date of a customer, don’t rely only on the birth year alone to confirm someone is of legal drinking age. Minors may try to pull a fast one on busy or distracted workers by purchasing alcohol just a few months or weeks shy of their 21st birthdays.
- A hole punched into a driver license renders it invalid for identification purposes. The Nevada DMV may hole-punch driver licenses and identification cards when someone renews their license, transfers an out-of-state license, or a variety of other scenarios. The DMV will mail the new license to the individual, so this is just a temporary situation for license holders. The DMV will issue a temporary paper document with information matching the punched-out driver license. This document only serves as a confirmation that the application is pending; it is not a form of identification (Nevada DMV). Check with your employer for company policy on acceptable ID policy. Cautious businesses might want to request another form of valid identification such as a passport or military ID.
Resources
TAM Card® Nation in Vegas! 