Three Customers, One Expired ID, and a Birthday That Has Not Arrived
At a New Orleans convenience store licensed for off-premises alcohol sales, a 19-year-old cashier works the register alone at 11 p.m. Three customers approach with a 30-pack of beer and a bottle of vodka. Customer A presents a vertical Louisiana driver's license showing a birth date of 2004-02-14; today is 2025-01-20. Customer B presents a Louisiana ID that expired on 2024-12-31 and says he is 22. Customer C has no ID and says his older brother is waiting outside and will pay. The cashier knows Customer A from high school and believes he is 21. The store policy says 'card everyone under 40.' The cashier is behind on a line and the customers are becoming impatient.
1. Evaluate each customer's identification and state whether the sale may proceed.
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The sale should not proceed to this group.
- Customer A: The vertical Louisiana license shows a birth date of 2004-02-14. On 2025-01-20, Customer A is 20, not 21. A vertical Louisiana license also signals that the holder is under 21. The cashier's personal belief that A is 21 does not override the date on the license.
- Customer B: The Louisiana ID expired on 2024-12-31. An expired ID is not acceptable proof of age for an alcohol sale. The customer's statement that he is 22 is not a substitute for valid identification.
- Customer C: No ID was presented. A third party outside cannot cure that. The store should not sell alcohol to C on the brother's promise to pay.
Because the three are together and the alcohol appears to be a common purchase, the cashier should refuse the entire transaction, not just one customer's portion.
2. What should the cashier say and do next, and what should be documented?
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The cashier should stay neutral and specific: 'I can't sell alcohol without valid ID, and I can't accept an expired license or a vertical license for someone under 21.' Refuse the sale, keep the alcohol behind the counter, and do not argue about the customers' ages or the brother outside.
Document the refusal in the store's ID-refusal log if one exists: date, time, register, items refused, the reason for each customer (under 21 by date and vertical; expired ID; no ID), and the cashier's name. Preserve the store video if the encounter becomes hostile. If the customers leave and send in an older buyer, the cashier must card that buyer and treat it as a new sale; a straw purchase by an adult for minors is still a violation. Notify the manager on duty so the next shift knows the pattern.