[nagdu] EEOC issues question

National Association of Guide Dog Users blind411 at verizon.net
Fri Apr 4 13:56:33 UTC 2014


Jenine,
	This sounds too familiar to a situation in Nebraska. If so, there is
currently a law suit pending against this organization by the NFB. Please
write to me off-list.

Marion



-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jenine Stanley
Sent: Friday, April 04, 2014 9:26 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] EEOC issues question

Has anyone had success personally or through assisting someone else in a
workplace situation where the dog is being made to stay in another area? 

Here's a sketch of one situation. 

A person works in a factory type environment, small assembly kind of work.
The employer has several blind employees with guide dogs and all of the dogs
are housed in a separate room away from the people and the work floor. In
case of emergency, people are told to just evacuate and their dogs will be
taken to them by someone else. 

Recently during a tornado drill this did not happen. 

The individual who contacted us wants to have his dog near his work area
enough so that he could get the dog himself and evacuate more safely.

I've advised him to ask for this as a "reasonable accommodation" under title
I of the ADA. He has done so and the employer has denied his request. 

The next step is to file this with the EEOC but has anyone out there had
success in such a facility with getting the dogs housed so that the handlers
can manage them and use them in cases of emergency? 

I thought I recalled a situation where a number of handlers stood up to such
a facility and got what they needed but now I can't recall where that was
and the circumstances. 

The difficulty with the Title I section of the ADA is that there's not a lot
about service animals in it and it's all a balanced negotiation which is
made even more difficult in these situations where someone is really nervous
about going against the employer.

Jenine Stanley
jeninems at wowway.com

http://www.twitter.com/jeninems


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