[nagdu] workplace issues was Puppy raising Question

[Julie J]

Tami,

I would highly recommend keeping records of your training sessions.  It's 
really the only documentation potentially available that could show that 
your dog is indeed trained.

When I approached my supervisor with wanting to bring Monty to work with me, 
the fact that I owner train never came up.  I just said that I'd like to use 
my guide dog at work.  My supervisor said okay and that was pretty much 
that.   Perhaps it makes a difference that my supervisor is an attorney and 
is very aware of the laws. *smile*  Honestly though, he was a really great 
guy who I enjoyed working with.  Too bad he didn't seek reelection.

HTH
Julie

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tamara Smith-Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2011 8:24 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Puppy raising Question


> Steve,
>
> Thanks for posting that.  Interesting stuff.  Now to figure out if I'm
> enlightened or more cnofused.  /grin/  I may have to give it another 
> copule
> of goes.
>
> So then my question, as an owner-trainer, is where *do* I fit in terms of
> documentation...  I can document that I am blind, but how do I get
> documentation that my dog is trained to do what she's supposed to do and 
> not
> do what she's not supposed to do?
>
> So some things have come up and we have some decisions to make before I
> really start looking for employment here -- or not, if we end up moving
> across the state for family reasons.  But in thinking about the process of
> getting back to work, it never occurred to me that as an owner-trainer, I
> might have problems over my working guide because I don't have a piece of
> paper about that.  Huh.
>
> Then again, I plan to attend any potential interview with dog, so that
> hsould make it obvious that she guides and how she guides and that she can
> behave appropriately in the office situation.  Right?
>
> Could the imaginary potential employer then require documentation before
> allowing me to bring my guide to work as a prerequisite to my being hired?
>
> Just curious, and it wouldn't hurt to have that one figured out in case it
> comes up.  Then again, I'm a snotty twit, and while I am plenty hard up 
> for
> money and entertainment both, I judst might want to give a stab or two at
> resolving the matter sensibly and amicably.  If they are not reasonable or
> amicable (in my opinion, of course), I can always go elsewhere...  That's
> not such a given in this employment marketing, which is not growing by 
> leaps
> and bounds at least here, but I do have that attitude.  /smile/
>
> Tami Smith-Kinney
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Steven Johnson
> Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2011 3:50 PM
> To: 'NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Puppy raising Question
>
> 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
>>
>> Email services provided by the System Access Mobile Network.  Visit
>> www.serotek.com to learn more about accessibility anywhere.
>>
>>
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