[Nfbf-l] Great convention/service animal statute
Sherrill O'Brien
Sherrill.obrien at verizon.net
Wed Jan 20 20:00:46 UTC 2016
Hello Joanne,
Although there were some changes made to Florida's Statute 413.08 which went into effect this past July, the wording brought our law more in line with the ADA. There is no certification/documentation which can be required of the handler of a service animal, neither in the ADA nor the Florida Statute. I have pasted and attached our Florida law here. But the following is the specific section of interest to you:
(3) (b)(a) Documentation that the service animal is trained is
not a precondition for providing service to an individual
accompanied by a service animal. A public accommodation may not
ask about the nature or extent of an individual's disability. To
determine the difference between a service animal and a pet, a
public accommodation may ask if an animal is a service animal
required because of a disability and what work or what tasks the
animal has been trained to perform in order to determine the
difference between a service animal and a pet.
A major addition to the new Florida law is section 9, which deals with service animal fraud. It states that trying to pass your animal off as a service animal can result in a second degree misdemeanor charge, and the penalty for this includes performing thirty hours of community service. The Florida Association of Guide Dog Users doubts that there will be many persons actually charged with this fraud. Nevertheless, we hope the fact that this is now a criminal act will serve as a deterrent for some. I hope this helps.
If you have any other questions about our law, please don't hesitate to ask.
Warm regards
Sherrill O'Brien, President
Florida Association of Guide Dog Users
413.08 Rights and responsibilities of an individual with a
disability; use of a service animal; prohibited discrimination
in public employment, public accommodations, and or housing
accommodations; penalties.—
(1) As used in this section and s. 413.081, the term:
(a) "Housing accommodation" means any real property or
portion thereof which is used or occupied, or intended,
arranged, or designed to be used or occupied, as the home,
residence, or sleeping place of one or more persons, but does
not include any single-family residence, the occupants of which
rent, lease, or furnish for compensation not more than one room
therein.
(b) "Individual with a disability" means a person who has
a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or
more major life activities of the individual is deaf, hard of
hearing, blind, visually impaired, or otherwise physically
disabled. As used in this paragraph, the term:
1. "Major life activity" means a function such as caring
for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing,
hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working "Hard of
hearing" means an individual who has suffered a permanent
hearing impairment that is severe enough to necessitate the use
of amplification devices to discriminate speech sounds in verbal
communication.
2. "Physical or mental impairment" means:
a. A physiological disorder or condition, disfigurement,
or anatomical loss that affects one or more bodily functions; or
b. A mental or psychological disorder that meets one of
the diagnostic categories specified in the most recent edition
of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
published by the American Psychiatric Association, such as an
intellectual or developmental disability, organic brain
syndrome, traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress disorder,
or an emotional or mental illness
"Physically disabled" means
any person who has a physical impairment that substantially
limits one or more major life activities.
(c) "Public accommodation" means a common carrier,
airplane, motor vehicle, railroad train, motor bus, streetcar,
boat, or other public conveyance or mode of transportation;
hotel; a timeshare that is a transient public lodging
establishment as defined in s. 509.013; lodging place; place of
public accommodation, amusement, or resort; and other places to
which the general public is invited, subject only to the
conditions and limitations established by law and applicable
alike to all persons. The term does not include air carriers
covered by the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986, 49 U.S.C. s.
41705, and by regulations adopted by the United States
Department of Transportation to implement such act.
(d) "Service animal" means an animal that is trained to do
work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability,
including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or
other mental disability. The work done or tasks performed must
be directly related to the individual's disability and may
include, but are not limited to, guiding an individual a person
who is visually impaired or blind, alerting an individual a
person who is deaf or hard of hearing, pulling a wheelchair,
assisting with mobility or balance, alerting and protecting an
individual a person who is having a seizure, retrieving objects,
alerting an individual to the presence of allergens, providing
physical support and assistance with balance and stability to an
individual with a mobility disability, helping an individual
with a psychiatric or neurological disability by preventing or
interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors, reminding an
individual with mental illness to take prescribed medications,
calming an individual with posttraumatic stress disorder during
an anxiety attack, or doing other specific work or performing
other special tasks. A service animal is not a pet. For purposes
of subsections (2), (3), and (4), the term "service animal" is
limited to a dog or miniature horse. The crime-deterrent effect
of an animal's presence and the provision of emotional support,
well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or
tasks for purposes of this definition.
(2) An individual with a disability is entitled to full
and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges
in all public accommodations. A public accommodation must modify
its policies, practices, and procedures to permit use of a
service animal by an individual with a disability. This section
does not require any person, firm, business, or corporation, or
any agent thereof, to modify or provide any vehicle, premises,
facility, or service to a higher degree of accommodation than is
required for a person not so disabled.
(3) An individual with a disability has the right to be
accompanied by a service animal in all areas of a public
accommodation that the public or customers are normally
permitted to occupy.
(a) The service animal must be under the control of its
handler and must have a harness, leash, or other tether, unless
either the handler is unable because of a disability to use a
harness, leash, or other tether, or the use of a harness, leash,
or other tether would interfere with the service animal's safe,
effective performance of work or tasks, in which case the
service animal must be otherwise under the handler's control by
means of voice control, signals, or other effective means.
(b)(a) Documentation that the service animal is trained is
not a precondition for providing service to an individual
accompanied by a service animal. A public accommodation may not
ask about the nature or extent of an individual's disability. To
determine the difference between a service animal and a pet, a
public accommodation may ask if an animal is a service animal
required because of a disability and what work or what tasks the
animal has been trained to perform in order to determine the
difference between a service animal and a pet.
(c)(b) A public accommodation may not impose a deposit or
surcharge on an individual with a disability as a precondition
to permitting a service animal to accompany the individual with
a disability, even if a deposit is routinely required for pets.
(d)(c) An individual with a disability is liable for
damage caused by a service animal if it is the regular policy
and practice of the public accommodation to charge nondisabled
persons for damages caused by their pets.
(e)(d) The care or supervision of a service animal is the
responsibility of the individual owner. A public accommodation
is not required to provide care or food or a special location
for the service animal or assistance with removing animal
excrement.
(f)(e) A public accommodation may exclude or remove any
animal from the premises, including a service animal, if the
animal is out of control and the animal's handler does not take
effective action to control it, the animal is not housebroken,
or the animal's behavior poses a direct threat to the health and
safety of others. Allergies and fear of animals are not valid
reasons for denying access or refusing service to an individual
with a service animal. If a service animal is excluded or
removed for being a direct threat to others, the public
accommodation must provide the individual with a disability the
option of continuing access to the public accommodation without
having the service animal on the premises.
(4) Any person, firm, or corporation, or the agent of any
person, firm, or corporation, who denies or interferes with
admittance to, or enjoyment of, a public accommodation or, with
regard to a public accommodation, otherwise interferes with the
rights of an individual with a disability or the trainer of a
service animal while engaged in the training of such an animal
pursuant to subsection (8), commits a misdemeanor of the second
degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083 and
must perform 30 hours of community service for an organization
that serves individuals with disabilities, or for another entity
or organization at the discretion of the court, to be completed
in not more than 6 months.
(5) It is the policy of this state that an individual with
a disability be employed in the service of the state or
political subdivisions of the state, in the public schools, and
in all other employment supported in whole or in part by public
funds, and an employer may not refuse employment to such a
person on the basis of the disability alone, unless it is shown
that the particular disability prevents the satisfactory
performance of the work involved.
(6) An individual with a disability is entitled to rent,
lease, or purchase, as other members of the general public, any
housing accommodations offered for rent, lease, or other
compensation in this state, subject to the conditions and
limitations established by law and applicable alike to all
persons.
(a) This section does not require any person renting,
leasing, or otherwise providing real property for compensation
to modify her or his property in any way or provide a higher
degree of care for an individual with a disability than for a
person who is not disabled.
(b) An individual with a disability who has a service
animal or who obtains a service animal is entitled to full and
equal access to all housing accommodations provided for in this
section, and such a person may not be required to pay extra
compensation for such the service animal. However, such a person
is liable for any damage done to the premises or to another
person on the premises by the such an animal. A housing
accommodation may request proof of compliance with vaccination
requirements.
(c) This subsection does not limit the rights or remedies
of a housing accommodation or an individual with a disability
that are granted by federal law or another law of this state
with regard to other assistance animals.
(7) An employer covered under subsection (5) who
discriminates against an individual with a disability in
employment, unless it is shown that the particular disability
prevents the satisfactory performance of the work involved, or
any person, firm, or corporation, or the agent of any person,
firm, or corporation, providing housing accommodations as
provided in subsection (6) who discriminates against an
individual with a disability, commits a misdemeanor of the
second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
775.083.
(8) Any trainer of a service animal, while engaged in the
training of such an animal, has the same rights and privileges
with respect to access to public facilities and the same
liability for damage as is provided for those persons described
in subsection (3) accompanied by service animals.
(9) A person who knowingly and willfully misrepresents
herself or himself, through conduct or verbal or written notice,
as using a service animal and being qualified to use a service
animal or as a trainer of a service animal commits a misdemeanor
of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
775.083 and must perform 30 hours of community service for an
organization that serves individuals with disabilities, or for
another entity or organization at the discretion of the court,
to be completed in not more than 6 months.
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.
-----Original Message-----
From: Nfbf-l [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Joanne King via Nfbf-l
Sent: January 20, 2016 1:10 PM
To: 'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List'
Cc: Joanne King
Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] Great convention
Is this true? I just heard that according to the ADA act. A guide dog
doesn't need certification when going into public places. I was told that
the law changed in 2015.
Please respond.
Joanne
-----Original Message-----
From: Nfbf-l [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Denise Valkema
via Nfbf-l
Sent: Monday, January 18, 2016 6:49 PM
To: National fed. Of Blind
Cc: Denise Valkema
Subject: [Nfbf-l] Great convention
Federationist,
Thank you to all who came, participated, and helped in any way making this a
memorable convention. Tampa hosted a great convention and we were glad to
have President Riccobono and Anil Lewis with us.
The board currently is:
Denise Valkema, President
Paul Martinez, 1st Vice President
Miranda Kilby, 2nd Vice President
Sylvia Young, secretary
Gloria Mills Hicks, treasurer
Lauren Blum, Board Member
Jorge Hernandez, Board Member
Tekesha Saffold, Board Member
Rafael Fernandez, Board Member
We appreciate Peter Cerullo, Lenora Marten, and Rashad Morgan serving on the
board.
Feel free to share what you enjoyed or learned here on the list.
Together with love, hope, and determination we will continue building the
federation in Florida.
Sincerely, Denise Valkema, President NFBF
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