A “key employee” is:
(a) Any executive, employee, agent, officer or director of a liquor licensee having the power to exercise a significant influence over decisions concerning any part of the operation of a liquor licensee is a key employee;
(b) Whenever it is the judgment of the director, LVMPD, or a member of the board that the public interest will be served by requiring any key employee to obtain a finding of suitability to hold key employee status, the director shall serve upon the licensee notice to make application for key employee approval;
(c) Grounds for requiring a finding of suitability for a key employee which are deemed to be in the public interest include, but are not limited to, situations where the employee is new to the industry and/or new to the particular liquor establishment, or new to a position in which the employee has the authority and/or responsibility of a key employee as set forth in subsection (a) above, or when the board, for reasons concerning the employee’s character, background, reputation, or associations, deems it in the public interest to require such finding of suitability;
(d) The licensee shall, within thirty days after receipt of the notice requiring a finding of suitability of any key employee, present the key employee application to the director or provide documentary evidence that such key employee is no longer employed by the licensee. An application, the investigation and payment of fees shall be made in accordance with requirements of Sections 8.20.025, 8.20.030, 8.20.080, and 8.20.120;
(e) Any person notified by the director to make application pursuant to this section, may request the board to review the determination of that person’s status with the liquor licensee/applicant anytime within ten days after the filing of a completed application. An item will be submitted for the agenda of the next available regularly scheduled board meeting at which it may be lawfully scheduled after the applicant files the request for board action. In the event the board determines that the applicant is not a key employee or that the public interest and policies of the board do not require the approval of the key employee at that time, then the key employee applicant shall be allowed to withdraw his/her application and he/she may continue in his/her employment. In no event shall a request for review stay the obligation of the licensee to present the key employee’s application within the thirty-day period herein prescribed;
(f) Any liquor licensee employing a person in a key employee position after that person’s disapproval by the board, or upon the employee’s refusal to make application for key employee status after receiving notification to do so, shall be subject to disciplinary action as set out in Chapter 8.08;
(g) Refusal of a key employee to make application for a finding of suitability, or his/her continued employment in a key position after disapproval by the board, shall be grounds for revocation of his/her work card pursuant to Chapter 8.24. (Ord. L-232-05 § 35, 2005)