[NFBMT] Service dogs and the ADA

[Bruce&Joy Breslauer]

ADA Requirements: Service Animals

Department of Justice seal

 

U.S. Department of Justice

Civil Rights Division

Disability Rights Section

 

ADA 2010 Revised Requirements

 

Service Animals

The Department of Justice published revised final regulations implementing
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for title II (State and local
government

services) and title III (public accommodations and commercial facilities) on
September 15, 2010, in the Federal Register. These requirements, or rules,

clarify and refine issues that have arisen over the past 20 years and contain
new, and updated, requirements, including the 2010 Standards for Accessible

Design (2010 Standards).

 

Overview

 

This publication provides guidance on the term "service animal" and the
service animal provisions in the Department's new regulations.

 

list of 3 items

Beginning on March 15, 2011, only dogs are recognized as service animals
under titles II and III of the ADA.

A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform
tasks for a person with a disability.

Generally, title II and title III entities must permit service animals to
accompany people with disabilities in all areas where members of the public
are

allowed to go.

list end

 

How "Service Animal" Is Defined

 

Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work
or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks

include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a
wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure,
reminding

a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person
with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or
performing

other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task
a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person's

disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional
support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.

 

This definition does not affect or limit the broader definition of
"assistance animal" under the Fair Housing Act or the broader definition of
"service

animal" under the Air Carrier Access Act.

 

Some State and local laws also define service animal more broadly than the
ADA does. Information about such laws can be obtained from the State attorney

general's office.

 

Where Service Animals Are Allowed

 

Under the ADA, State and local governments, businesses, and nonprofit
organizations that serve the public generally must allow service animals to
accompany

people with disabilities in all areas of the facility where the public is
normally allowed to go. For example, in a hospital it would be inappropriate

to exclude a service animal from areas such as patient rooms, clinics,
cafeterias, or examination rooms. However, it may be appropriate to exclude a
service

animal from operating rooms or burn units where the animal's presence may
compromise a sterile environment.

 

Service Animals Must Be Under Control

 

Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered,
unless these devices interfere with the service animal's work or the
individual's

disability prevents using these devices. In that case, the individual must
maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective
controls.

 

Inquiries, Exclusions, Charges, and Other Specific Rules Related to Service
Animals

 

When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited
inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service
animal

required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been
trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the person's disability, require

medical documentation, require a special identification card or training
documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to
perform

the work or task.

Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or
refusing service to people using service animals. When a person who is
allergic

to dog dander and a person who uses a service animal must spend time in the
same room or facility, for example, in a school classroom or at a homeless

shelter, they both should be accommodated by assigning them, if possible, to
different locations within the room or different rooms in the facility.

A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from
the premises unless: (1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not

take effective action to control it or (2) the dog is not housebroken. When
there is a legitimate reason to ask that a service animal be removed, staff

must offer the person with the disability the opportunity to obtain goods or
services without the animal's presence.

Establishments that sell or prepare food must allow service animals in public
areas even if state or local health codes prohibit animals on the premises.

People with disabilities who use service animals cannot be isolated from
other patrons, treated less favorably than other patrons, or charged fees
that

are not charged to other patrons without animals. In addition, if a business
requires a deposit or fee to be paid by patrons with pets, it must waive the

charge for service animals.

If a business such as a hotel normally charges guests for damage that they
cause, a customer with a disability may also be charged for damage caused by

himself or his service animal.

Staff are not required to provide care or food for a service animal.

 

 

Miniature Horses

 

In addition to the provisions about service dogs, the Department's revised
ADA regulations have a new, separate provision about miniature horses that
have

been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with
disabilities. (Miniature horses generally range in height from 24 inches to
34 inches

measured to the shoulders and generally weigh between 70 and 100 pounds.)
Entities covered by the ADA must modify their policies to permit miniature
horses

where reasonable. The regulations set out four assessment factors to assist
entities in determining whether miniature horses can be accommodated in their

facility. The assessment factors are (1) whether the miniature horse is
housebroken; (2) whether the miniature horse is under the owner's control;
(3)

whether the facility can accommodate the miniature horse's type, size, and
weight; and (4) whether the miniature horse's presence will not compromise
legitimate

safety requirements necessary for safe operation of the facility.

 

For more information about the ADA, please visit our website or call our
toll-free number.

 

ADA Website www.ADA.gov

 

 

To receive e-mail notifications when new ADA information is available,

 

visit the ADA Website's home page and click the 

link

near the top of the middle column.

 

ADA Information Line

 

800-514-0301 (Voice) and 800-514-0383 (TTY)

 

24 hours a day to order publications by mail.

 

M-W, F 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Th 12:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)

 

to speak with an ADA Specialist. All calls are confidential.

 

For persons with disabilities, this publication is available in alternate
formats.

 

Duplication of this document is encouraged. July 2011

 

 

Joy Breslauer, President

National Federation of the Blind of Montana 

Web Site: http://www.nfbofmt.org <http://www.nfbofmt.org/> 

 

Live the life you want

 

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.