.08 Does Not Mean "Drunk"
The questions arise all the time: How could I be arrested if my BAC was below .08? How could I get suspended from work for being under the influence if my BAC was below .08? How could I have gotten arrested? How could I have gotten kicked out of the high school basketball game?
These questions reflect a common but serious misunderstanding of the meaning of the .08 "legal limit". In every state, a person can be convicted of a crime for operating a motor vehicle "with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or greater" (language varies from state to state).
That means it's a crime to drive with a BAC of .08% or greater. And that's all it means. States are free to write statutes that also make driving under the influence a crime, and allow for conviction with a BAC lower than .08% if you show signs of impairment. States are free to make it a crime to drive with a lower BAC if you're a minor. States are free to make it a crime to drive with a lower BAC if you're driving a commercial vehicle. And many do all three.
Outside the legal arena, the .08% "limit" has no application at all unless specifically adopted for some other purpose. Employers aren't bound by it. Schools aren't bound by it. And even the criminal justice system isn't bound by it outside the specific statutes that refer to it. For instance, the crime of "public intoxication" is not, in most states, dependent upon a BAC of .08% or greater.