18B-1003. Responsibilities of permittee.

(a) Premises. - For purposes of this Chapter, a permittee shall be responsible for the entire premises for which the permit is issued. The permittee shall keep the premises clean, well-lighted and orderly.

(b) Employees. - For purposes of this Chapter, a permittee shall be responsible for the actions of all employees of the business for which the permit is issued. Each holder of a salesman's permit shall be responsible for all sales and deliveries made by his helpers.

(c) Certain Employees Prohibited. - A permittee shall not knowingly employ in the sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages any person who has been:

(1) Convicted of a felony within three years;

(2) Convicted of a felony more than three years previously and has not had his citizenship restored;

(3) Convicted of an alcoholic beverage offense within two years; or

(4) Convicted of a misdemeanor controlled substances offense within two years; [or]

(5) A past permit holder under Chapter 18B of the General Statutes whose permit had been revoked within the last 18 months and who had been the permit holder at the location where the person would be employed.

For purposes of this subsection, "conviction" has the same meaning as in G.S. 18B-900(b). To avoid undue hardship, the Commission may, in its discretion, exempt persons on a case-by-case basis from this subsection.

(c1) Posting Human Trafficking Hotline. - All permittees shall prominently display on the premises in a place that is clearly conspicuous and visible to employees a public awareness sign created and provided by the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission that contains the National Human Trafficking Resource hotline information.

(d) Financial Responsibility. - A permittee shall pay all judgments rendered against him under the provisions of Article 1A of this Chapter. When the Commission is informed, under the provisions of G.S. 18B-127 that there is an outstanding unsatisfied judgment against a permittee, the Commission shall suspend all of the permittee's permits. Notice and hearing are not required for a suspension under this subsection, and the suspension shall become effective immediately upon the Commission's receipt of the report. The suspension shall remain in effect until the permittee demonstrates that he has satisfied the judgment by payment in full. Nothing in this section relieves the permittee of the obligation to pay any applicable fees as a precondition of the reinstatement of his permit.