Eeoc Guidance On Service Animals In The Workplace
The provisions of the ADA as outlined by the Dept. of Justice in their revised final regulations outline that public facilities “must permit service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas where members of the public are allowed to go.” This would include hospitals, clinics, cafeterias, examination rooms, etc. This same guidance outlines that when it is not obvious what service an animal provides, staff may ask limited inquiries only, to include “(1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability; and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform.” Further under this guidance, a person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his/her service animal from the premises unless the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective control or the dog is not housebroken. Under the ADA guidance a service dog must be already trained before it can be taken into public places, but specifically notes that some State or local laws cover animals that are still in training. Connecticut is such a state.
While the ADA addresses service dogs in public accommodations, what about an individual requiring a service dog in the workplace? While the ADA does not address this topic specifically, the EEOC has issued guidance. (at Paragraph 25). According to the EEOC the ADA does not require employers to “automatically” allow employees to bring their service animals to work, but that such a request, is considered a form of reasonable accommodation. Once an employee makes such a reasonable request, the employer must engage in an interactive process to determine if allowing a service dog into the workplace, would cause any undue hardship upon the business. Obviously, to determine if allowing a service dog in the workplace is a reasonable accommodation, would be case specific. If you work in a garage, a small office or a large warehouse, it is less likely that any hardship would exist. However, if you work as a cashier at your local stop & shop or in the deli, well, that may not be such a reasonable request.
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In the State of Connecticut, any dog in training as a service dog and its handler are protected. The handler does not even need to demonstrate that the dog is being used to help with disabilities in order to be afforded the protections allowed to people using service dogs, as the law protects those individuals who are “training” a service dog. Connecticut law further prohibits public facilities from denying full and equal access to any blind, deaf, or mobility-impaired person OR any person training a guide or assistance dog, accompanied by his or her dog. (C.G.S. §46a-44 and 46a-64).
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Reasonably speaking, in the State of Connecticut, making a request to bring your service dog to work is a viable option and a reasonable request for an accommodation. However, it will certainly be case and employer specific. If you would like to read more about this topic, you can visit the Law Library here and read all about the specific laws that touch upon this topic.
If you find that you have been the subject of discrimination and/or retaliation for requiring the assistance of a service animal within your place of work, give Employee Rights Advocacy Agency a call to discuss your situation and let us see if we can help you resolve that issue.Many individuals with disabilities use service animals to help them fully engage in everyday life. Animals, particularly dogs, can be trained to perform a wide range of tasks to help people with disabilities, and the number of tasks these specially trained animals can perform continues to grow. As a result, more applicants and employees are requesting the use of service animals as a reasonable workplace accommodation for a variety of different disabilities. In addition, the growing popularity of emotional support animals adds another layer of complexity to the issue of animals in the workplace for employers. Because the law in this area is somewhat murky, employers must use caution when addressing service animal/emotional support animal accommodation requests and need to be prepared to address the potential challenges that such accommodations can entail.
Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which specifically addresses disabilities in the employment context, is silent on the issue of service animals in the workplace. However, Title III of the ADA, which addresses accommodation of persons with disabilities in public and commercial facilities, provides some guidance regarding service animals. Title III requires places of public accommodation to permit service animals to accompany individuals with disabilities in all areas where the public is allowed to go. Importantly, this provision of the ADA narrowly defines a “service animal” as either a dog or miniature horse (when reasonable) that has been individually trained “to do work or perform tasks” for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.
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Such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, alerting a diabetic in advance of low or high blood sugar events, and reminding a person with a mental illness to take prescribed medications. Service animals are working animals, not pets, and to meet the definition of a service animal, the work or task that the animal has been trained to perform must be directly related to the person’s disability. Under Title III of the ADA, business owners can only ask individuals with disabilities who are accompanied by a service dog or miniature horse if (1) the dog or miniature horse is a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task the animal has been trained to perform.
Conversely, under Title III’s definition, an animal whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support does not qualify as a service animal under the ADA because it has not been sufficiently trained to perform a specific job or task. Therefore, under the ADA, there is no obligation to accommodate emotional support animals in places of public accommodation. However, as we previously reported here, because there are so few restrictions on individuals bringing animals in places of public accommodation, businesses owners report that patrons frequently try to fraudulently pass off their emotional support animals or pets as legitimate service animals. In response to this issue, states like Arizona have enacted laws making it illegal to misrepresent a pet as a service animal or service animal-in-training and creating civil penalties of up to $250 for each violation. Although business owners have no obligation to accommodate emotional support animals under federal law or under the laws of some states, other states have enacted their own laws specific to service animals and emotional support animals that expand the obligation to accommodate. For example, California and a minority of other states have disability discrimination laws that do allow for emotional support animals as a reasonable accommodation in certain circumstances. Further, other federal laws, such as the Fair Housing Act, include emotional support animals in their definition of service animals.
Although Title III’s definition of “service animal” is informative, employers and employees are not limited to those rigid restrictions because Title I does not specifically address service animals in the employment context. Therefore, unlike in places of public accommodation, where entities are required to allow service animals, under Title I, employers are not automatically required to grant a request for use of a service animal by an employee or applicant. Instead, employers must consider the request for a service animal as they would any request for a reasonable accommodation, and after engaging in the interactive process, determine whether granting the request is necessary and not unduly burdensome. At bottom, an employee’s or applicant’s request to use a service animal as a reasonable accommodation for a disability is really just a request to deviate from an employer’s “no-pets” or “no-animals” policy (assuming it maintains those policies). Accordingly, employers who have policies explicitly prohibiting pets/animals in the workplace should modify such policies to allow for service animals as a potential reasonable accommodation, when appropriate.
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On the other hand, in some instances, employers may be required to provide employees with more expansive accommodations than those contemplated by Title III. For example, depending on the circumstances, the use of other types of service animals than dogs and miniature horses may be considered a reasonable accommodation for employees. Moreover, because Title I does not have a specific definition of “service animal” in the employment context, the use of emotional support animals may be considered a reasonable disability accommodation for employees/applicants, in certain situations. Accordingly, employers should not summarily dismiss an employee’s or applicant’s request simply because the animal is not a dog or miniature horse, or because the animal is identified as an emotional support animal.
An applicant or employee’s request to use a service or emotional support animal in the workplace should be treated as any other disability accommodation request. As with any
On the other hand, in some instances, employers may be required to provide employees with more expansive accommodations than those contemplated by Title III. For example, depending on the circumstances, the use of other types of service animals than dogs and miniature horses may be considered a reasonable accommodation for employees. Moreover, because Title I does not have a specific definition of “service animal” in the employment context, the use of emotional support animals may be considered a reasonable disability accommodation for employees/applicants, in certain situations. Accordingly, employers should not summarily dismiss an employee’s or applicant’s request simply because the animal is not a dog or miniature horse, or because the animal is identified as an emotional support animal.
An applicant or employee’s request to use a service or emotional support animal in the workplace should be treated as any other disability accommodation request. As with any
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