ADA service animals in the workplace: Navigating accommodations
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the leading disability rights law in the United States. It offers crucial protections to individuals with disabilities, including those who use service animals. Business owners often understand how to accommodate customers or the public with service animals. However, they might not know how to make similar accommodations in the workplace.
Dogs often make excellent additions to the workplace. The rise of dog-friendly offices proves this. However, accommodating a service animal can still raise questions. Learn about your responsibilities for accommodation under the ADA. Discover what to consider when you handle a service animal accommodation request.
The Americans With Disabilities Act and service animals
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law. It requires employers to make reasonable accommodations. These accommodations help employees with disabilities perform their essential job functions. One such accommodation could be modifying a no-animals policy. This would allow an employee to bring a service animal to work.
Under the ADA, a service animal is a dog individually trained to work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. The ADA notes that the task(s) performed by the animal must be directly related to a person’s disability.
Titles II and III of the ADA only include dogs in the definition of a service animal, but there is a provision allowing miniature horses in specific circumstances. Title I, the employment section, does not contain such language, meaning a broader definition may be considered.
Like other reasonable accommodation requests under the ADA, employers can work with the employee to find effective alternative accommodations. However, that’s often tricky with service animals as they are trained to meet the particular needs of that individual employee.
What employers are covered by the ADA?
Title I of the ADA applies to employers who are persons or organizations involved in interstate commerce. These employers must have 15 or more employees working each day for at least 20 weeks in the current or previous year. This employee threshold is lower than other federal laws like the FMLA, so track when you meet it. The U.S. Department of Justice provides additional information about Title I at ADA.gov.
Service animals vs. Emotional support animals
Service animals and emotional support animals (ESAs) both provide valuable support to people with disabilities. However, the ADA only protects service animals in the workplace. ESAs may have different roles. Service animals receive task training to perform specific activities for a disabled person. These tasks might include alerting to medical episodes, guiding visually impaired people, or providing mobility support.
Emotional support animals, on the other hand, offer general emotional support rather than specific tasks. They’re often used to help people dealing with mental health concerns like anxiety or depression.
People can have psychiatric service animals that perform tasks for those with mental health conditions. For example, there are many nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing PTSD service dogs for veterans. In these cases, specific tasks will help the owner, such as alerting to episodes, conducting room searches, providing deep pressure therapy during panic attacks, or alerting someone approaching from behind.
The critical difference lies in the tasks performed. Service animals perform specific activities to help their handlers feel safer or better navigate difficult situations. ESAs, on the other hand, offer emotional support simply through their presence. Due to this difference, service animals have broader public access rights and are more often allowed as workplace accommodations.
However, employees can still request ESAs as accommodations, and employers should consider those requests. Finding alternative accommodations for ESAs is generally easier than for service animals because ESAs do not have specialized tasks, like alerting to medical events.
Employer considerations when managing service animal accommodation requests
Bringing an animal into your work environment comes with different considerations and concerns to work through. Here are some things to keep in mind.
Requesting documentation
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states that employers can request documentation. This documentation should verify the employee’s disability and explain any functional limitations if the disability isn’t obvious. A medical provider typically provides this documentation. Employees don’t need a certificate or license for their service animal. No official licensing body for service animals exists in the United States.
Where the service animal is allowed
Under the ADA, service animals can enter most workplace areas and public accommodation places. The Air Carrier Access Act and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) also allow them on planes and rail transport, so employees with service animals can also go on business trips with their assistance animals.
However, service animals do not need to be permitted in select areas where their presence would alter the nature of the goods or services sold. Sterile environments and food preparation areas are the two most common examples.
If the employee requesting an accommodation typically works in one of these areas, you may need to explore alternative accommodations. The ADA also allows for job reassignment as an option. If you have an opening in a non-sterile business area, you could talk to the employee about moving them and their service animal to that open role.
Allergy concerns
Under the ADA, an allergy concern is generally not a valid reason to deny access to a service animal. You should try to accommodate both parties. If one employee has a service animal and another has a dog allergy, consider separating them within the office.
You shouldn’t isolate service dog handlers from other employees (unless a private work area is requested as part of their disability accommodations). Still, you can ensure that dog allergy sufferers and service dog users sit further apart. Invest in an air purifier to minimize airborne allergens if the work area is small or not well-ventilated.
Costs and responsibilities
Employers can consider if an ADA accommodation causes undue hardship. This could be due to the cost or difficulty of the request. However, allowing service animals is often one of the least expensive ADA accommodations. It usually requires minimal work from the employer.
The situation is “bring your own” for service animals. The employer does not need to help get or train a service animal. Employees usually only request this if they already have a service animal. They might also request it if they have a service animal in training that they want to bring to work.
This situation differs from other reasonable accommodations. For those, employers might need to buy accessible software or equipment. Employers and managers are not responsible for watching or caring for the service animal. The employee is responsible for supervising and controlling their animal.
Service animal conduct expectations
Service animals must be housetrained and cannot show aggressive behavior. Some barking or vocalization is acceptable if it’s part of a task. Otherwise, they should minimize disruption at work and not threaten others’ safety. If you approve a service dog accommodation but the animal misbehaves, you can ask the handler to stop bringing it to work. Offer alternative accommodations instead.
Coworker conduct expectations
People get excited when they see service animals, particularly in the workplace or at a store where they would not typically expect to see an animal. That said, you want to encourage employees to respect the service animal and its handler and take action if an employee misbehaves.
Distracting a service animal can often lead to a very dangerous situation for the employee because the animal may miss an alert. Therefore, ignoring the service animal is best unless the handler says otherwise. It can be helpful for managers to facilitate a conversation about these boundaries so that the employee’s needs are known and respected.
Service animal misconceptions
Many misconceptions exist about what service dogs do and how they should act or appear in public or at work. Here are some of the most common misconceptions.
1. Service animals need a specific license or credentials.
In America, no licensing body licenses or verifies service animals. When dealing with U.S. employees and the ADA, you should not ask for a service animal’s license, badge, or credential. Some other countries have different procedures, and American service dog organizations may give out their certificates or badges. Still, the absence of a service dog license or credential does not invalidate a service dog team.
2. Only certain breeds can be service dogs
You might picture a golden retriever or labrador when you hear “service dog.” However, any breed can be a service animal. Don’t judge the validity of an employee’s need based on the animal’s breed or appearance. Larger dogs may align better with tasks like mobility support and guide work. Yet, small dogs commonly serve as medical alert animals.
In addition, breed restrictions generally do not apply to assistance animals. Both the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibit breed-specific restrictions on service animals. If you live in any area with local or state laws banning ownership of certain breeds, service animals of those breeds will typically be allowed as an exemption.
3. Service animals cannot be around food
Food safety and sanitation guidelines typically ban pets in grocery stores or indoor dining areas. However, the ADA requires establishments selling or preparing food to allow service animals in public areas. This is true even if state or local health codes usually prohibit animals. This rule generally applies to common areas in the workplace, like break rooms open to all staff.
Many consider it reasonable to deny service animals access to private food preparation areas. This makes accommodating kitchen staff with service dogs a challenge. These areas have stricter sanitation standards and allergy protocols that may not allow for an animal’s presence. However, employees should typically have the right to bring their service dogs to break rooms, work happy hours, or catered office lunches, even if food is present.
4. Service animals must wear a vest or patch, identifying them as such
The ADA doesn’t require service animals to wear vests, ID tags, or specific harnesses. These items don’t prove an animal’s service status. However, service animals must wear a leash, harness, or tether. The only exception is if these items would hinder their ability to perform necessary tasks.
5. Only guide dogs need to be accommodated
Guide dogs are common service dogs but aren’t legally different. People tend to be more familiar with guide dogs, and some older documentation and guidance may use the term “guide dogs” instead of “service dogs.” Service animals aren’t just for the blind. All people with disabilities can have a service dog if it’s helpful in the management of their disability.
6. Most service animals are fakes
Some people falsely claim their pets or emotional support animals (ESAs) are service animals. They do this to bring them into places that aren’t pet-friendly. However, don’t assume people are faking their need for a service animal. Service animals train for various conditions. Their purpose and the handler’s disability aren’t always obvious.
Most people underestimate the percentage of the population with disabilities. These individuals are eligible for service animals or ADA accommodations. The ADA considers a person disabled if their condition significantly limits one or more major life activities. This includes those with a history of such conditions or those regarded as having an impairment.
It’s essential for employers to foster an inclusive and understanding workplace by avoiding assumptions about employees’ needs. Common conditions like asthma, migraines, ADHD, and anxiety can meet the ADA’s definition of disability. Therefore, employers should remain open-minded when reviewing accommodation requests, including those for service animals, and not assume someone is faking or exaggerating their needs.
More Resources:
ADA alcoholism: Breaking the stigma and finding support
Is insomnia a disability? ADA eligibility and accommodations
ADA and the hearing impaired: What employers should know
