[nagdu] Puppy raising Question

Thu Apr 7 22:50:19 UTC 2011

Sara, I would like to add to this and note the following taken from JAN, the
Job Accommodation Network.  Pleas e note however, that the definitions have
not been updated to reflect the changes in ADA Titles II and III.

Because more people are using service animals, employers are asking more
questions about service animals in the workplace. The following is a summary
of some of those questions. The answers are based on informal guidance from
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and do not represent the
EEOC's formal position on these issues or legal advice.

Does title I of the ADA require employers to automatically allow employees
with disabilities to bring their service animals to work?
Title III (public access) of the ADA requires a public accommodation to
modify policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a service
animal by an individual with a disability (DOJ, n.d.). But what about title
I (employment) of the ADA? According to the EEOC, title I does not require
employers to automatically allow employees to bring their service animals to
work. Instead, allowing a service animal into the workplace is a form of
reasonable accommodation.

What this means for employers: Employers must consider allowing an employee
with a disability to use a service animal at work unless doing so would
result in an undue hardship. In addition, the ADA allows employers to choose
among effective accommodations, although providing a substitute
accommodation for a service animal could bring up other tricky issues (see
question 4 below).

What is the definition of service animal under title I of the ADA?
As mentioned previously, title III (public access) regulations define
service animal as "any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually
trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a
disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired
vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds,
providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or
fetching dropped items" (DOJ, n.d.). But what about title I (employment) of
the ADA? According to the EEOC, there is no specific definition of service
animal under title I, and title III regulations do not apply to questions
arising under title I.

What this means to employers: Because there is not a specific definition of
service animal under title I, employers may have to consider allowing an
employee to bring in an animal that does not meet the title III definition
of service animal, such as a therapy or emotional support animal. However,
employers do not have to allow an employee to bring an animal into the
workplace if it is not needed because of a disability or if it disrupts the
workplace.

What kind of documentation can employers ask for related to a service
animal? What if the employee's doctor was not involved in the acquisition of
the service animal or the employee trained his own service animal and nobody
else was involved so the typical kind of medical documentation that
employers ask for is not be available? What might be considered sufficient
documentation in this type of situation?
Under the ADA, employers have the right to request reasonable documentation
that an accommodation is needed (EEOC, 2002). However, according to informal
guidance from the EEOC, employers need to be aware that sometimes reasonable
documentation is not always going to be from a doctor or some other health
care professional. In some cases the documentation should come from the
appropriate provider of a service. In the case of a service animal, the
appropriate documentation might be from whoever trained the service animal.

The goal of an employer is to understand why the service animal is needed
and what it does for the person, so the training is important. If an
employee has a service animal in a workplace where there could be lots of
different kinds of distractions, lots of things going on, the employer has
the right to require that the service animal be fully trained and capable of
functioning appropriately, not just for the employee with the disability,
but also in terms of the setting. An employee who trains his or her own
service animal needs to be able to document or demonstrate that the service
animal is in fact trained and will not disrupt the workplace.

What this means for employers: When an employee with a disability requests
to use a service animal at work, the employer has the right to request
documentation or demonstration of the need for the service animal, that the
service animal is trained, and that the service animal will not disrupt the
workplace. However, this documentation may not be available from a
healthcare provider so the employer may need to consider other sources for
the documentation.

If an employee wants to bring his service animal to work to help with
personal medical needs (e.g., an employee with diabetes wants to bring his
service animal to work to help monitor his blood sugar level), can the
employer deny the request and ask the employee to take care of his medical
needs in another way?
According to the EEOC, if the service animal has been trained to help with
the employee's medical needs, the employee has a right to ask that, as a
reasonable accommodation, the service animal be allowed to accompany him to
work.

The employer has a right to know that the animal is actually trained and
what the animal does for the employee. However, the employer probably cannot
insist that the person take care of his medical needs in a different way if
this is the way the employee does it; an employer cannot insist on what
medical treatments/procedures an employee uses. It would be like an employer
insisting that a person take one type of medication rather than another. Of
course, the service animal must be under the employee's supervision at all
times and not disrupt the workplace. But, the mere presence of the animal is
not enough to claim undue hardship.

What this means for employers: In general, employers should not be involved
in employees' personal medical decisions so an employer should not deny an
employee's request to use his service animal at work if the animal helps the
employee with his or her personal medical needs, unless the employer can
show undue hardship.

Who is responsible for taking care of a service animal at work?
The employee is responsible for taking care of the service animal, including
making sure the animal is not disruptive, keeping it clean and free of
parasites, and taking it out to relieve itself as needed.

What this means for employers: Employees are responsible for the care of
their service animals, but employers may have to provide accommodations that
enable the employees to do so. When an employee is allowed to bring a
service animal to work, the employer should consult with the employee to
find out what accommodations are needed to care for the animal. For example,
an employee might need to adjust his break times to take his service animal
outside.

Do employers have to create a relief area for a service animal when an
employee with a disability uses the service animal in the workplace?
The EEOC does not have any formal guidance regarding whether an employer
must create an animal relief area for an employee who uses a service animal,
but this should rarely be an issue because there is almost always a place
outside, close to the work-site, where the animal can relieve itself. For
example, the animal could relieve itself in an alley behind the work-site, a
grassy area close to the work-site, or even close to a sidewalk leading to
the building. Of course the employer could require the employee to clean up
after the animal.

To date, the EEOC has not addressed what an employer's obligation would be
to create a relief area in the event there is absolutely no existing place
for the service animal to relieve itself.

What this means for employers: From a practical standpoint, an employer
faced with a request to create a relief area for a service animal might want
to consider doing so even though it is not clearly required as an
accommodation under the ADA because otherwise the employee is not going to
be able to use his or her service animal at work.

**Do employers have to allow employees to train service animals in the
workplace?
Under the ADA, only employees with disabilities are entitled to reasonable
accommodations so if an employee without a disability is training a service
animal for someone else, there is no accommodation obligation under the ADA.
For employees with disabilities, an employer has a valid concern about the
potential disruption a service animal in training might create so might not
have to allow the employee to bring in the service animal until it is fully
trained or at least until it can be in the workplace without disruption.
Some states have laws addressing access for service animals in training, so
employers also should check their state laws.

What this means for employers: When an employee asks to bring in a service
animal in training, the employer should check state laws first. If state law
does not address access for service animals in training, then the employer
should next determine whether the employee who is making the request has a
disability and needs the service animal because of the disability. If the
employee does have a disability, then the employer needs to get more
information to determine whether the service animal will be disruptive
(e.g., the employer could have the employee demonstrate the animal's
behavior and current level of training). 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Sarah Clark
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2011 3:42 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Puppy raising Question

Hi Diana,
Unfortunately your puppy raiser friend does not have any rights when it 
comes to bringing her puppy to work.  The right of access goes with the 
handler, not the dog, and it is the blind handler who has the rights, and 
only when the dog has actually completed training as a guide.
Many puppy raisers are able to bring their puppies in training to stores, 
work, etc, but that is only because the establishment has chosen to allow 
it.  If they don't grant access, the raiser has no legal standing, and 
should probably not push the issue.

Sarah & Miguel

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Diana Dawne" <drdawne at samobile.net>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2011 12:44 PM
Subject: [nagdu] Puppy raising Question

> Hi all.  I have a friend who has encountered a problem She currently is 
> raising for one of the large schools on the east coast.  She has done this

> for many years and always takes her dogs to work with her which I think is

> what puppy raisers are supposed to do. Her dogs are always the model of 
> correct deportment so there has never ever been an issue over their 
> behavior.  However today her boss called her into his office to explain 
> they were changing offices and he would no longer allow her to bring the 
> dog to work with her.
>
> It seems odd to me that if she has done this for many years and there have

> never been complaints this attitude is strange to say the least.  Does she

> have any legal rights whatever?
>
> Bright Blessings,
>
> Diana & that Very Magical and Enchanting Guide Dog Fuller Brush
> email: drdawne at samobile.net
> phone toll-free 8775232688
>
> -- 
> Diana Dawne PHD
> phone and fax: good for  The United States and Canada 18775232688
> email: drdawne at samobile.net
>
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>
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