Q: What are the current workplace rules in relation to service animals?
A: The duration of COVID-19 lockdowns brought mental health conditions to the forefront, heralding an increase in the number of service animals that help their owners manage physical and mental disabilities.
Now that more employees are returning to the office, the question remains: Must an employer permit employees to bring their service animal into the office? The Americans with Disabilities Act has adopted a very clear standard regarding service animals in Titles II and III, which apply to private and public businesses; but the employment provision of the ADA (Title I) is an admittedly "grey area" for service animals.
Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers may be required to permit service animals in the worksite as a "reasonable accommodation." Once an employee has submitted a request for a reasonable accommodation to bring their service animal to the worksite, employers must engage in an "interactive process" in which they evaluate whether the accommodation will enable the employee to better perform his or her job, or whether granting the request would create an "undue hardship" (significant difficulty or expense) or present a "direct threat" (significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated or reduced).
Case authority supports a general trend toward acceptance of service animals in the workplace. For example, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken the position in a Kansas federal court case that Hobby Lobby violated the ADA when it refused an employee's reasonable accommodation request to bring her service dog to the worksite. See EEOC v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., No. 2:22-cv-02258-TC-TJJ (D. Kan. June 30, 2022). The employer argued the animal presented a direct threat because it could trigger employee and customer allergies, pose a tripping hazard and break merchandise in the store. The EEOC contends that the rejection of the service animal is based on "stereotypes [and] assumptions regarding the safety or effectiveness of the accommodation."
Note that while Titles II and III of the ADA – which apply to government entities and public accommodation (non-government businesses) – limit the definition of a "service animal" to a dog and in very limited circumstances, a miniature horse, Title I contains no such limitation. Therefore, it may be appropriate to admit other animals (typically for emotional support purposes, such as for employees with PTSD).
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