[nagdu] Expected DOJRuling in Next Few Weeks

[Marion & Martin]

Charlene,
    This is what I have right now! When the OMB makes its final ruling, I 
will post that information to the list. Thanks for the information!

Marion


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Charlene Ota" <caota at hawaii.rr.com>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 11:16 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Expected DOJRuling in Next Few Weeks


> Hi, Marion, do you have the actual text? Or maybe we have to wait until it
> passes. We'd like to put the text of this amendment up on the Eye of the
> Pacific Guide Dog Foundation's website for people to have as a reference.
>
> Also, about a week ago, our renovated site went up and has a lot of the
> reference material that might be useful on the hotline available for your
> convenience. The website is is
>
> www.eyeofthepacific.org
>
> And there's quarantine information and any other information about Hawaii
> pertaining to guide dogs there if you need it for the new hotline.
>
> Aloha,
> Charlene
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Marion & Martin
> Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 6:58 AM
> To: NAGDU List
> Subject: [nagdu] Expected DOJRuling in Next Few Weeks
>
> Dear All,
>    Below is the expected new regulations concerning service animals. These
> regulations are expected to be approved by the Office of Management & 
> Budget
> within the next few weeks. I am disappointed that the department chose to
> exclude miniature horses as service animals, as I know that we have two
> members successfully using them as guides.
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala
>
>
> 1
> Service Animals
> and the Law
> Jacquie Brennan
> Attorney
> DBTAC Southwest ADA Center
> Americans with Disabilities Act
> n Title I -- Employment
> n Title II -- State and Local Governments n Title III -- Public
> Accommodations n Title IV -- Telecommunications n Title V -- Miscellaneous
> provisions.
> n Service and therapy animals are treated differently under different 
> titles
> so we will look at each.
> 2
> What is a service animal?
> n Currently, the definition in the regulations is "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."
> Why is "currently" underlined?
> n Because the Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued new ADA regulations
> that are expected to be enacted within the next several weeks.
> n A lot of these new regs affect this
> information on service animals and other animals used by people with
> disabilities.
> 3
> Why are there new regs?
> n DOJ receives a large number of
> complaints from people who use service
> animals that indicate that a large number of businesses and other covered
> entities are confused about their obligations when it comes to service
> animals.
> n There is also confusion about how service animal is defined and whether
> comfort animals are covered.
> Also
> n Some individuals who do not have a
> disability claim that their animals are service animals.
> n Other individuals, who may have a
> disability, claim, either fraudulently or sincerely (albeit mistakenly),
> that their animals are service animals even though they do not meet the
> definition.
> 4
> All Clear
> n DOJ hopes that the new regs will clear up some of the confusion, both on
> the part of businesses, as well as people with disabilities.
> More Tasks
> n Under the new regs, there are more tasks listed as examples, such as
> "assisting an individual during a seizure, retrieving medicine or the
> telephone, providing physical support to assist with balance and stability
> to individuals with mobility disabilities, and assisting individuals,
> including those with cognitive disabilities, with navigation."
> 5
> Not a Service Animal
> n Under the new regs, the definition of service animal now includes a
> specific list of animals that are excluded, even if they are service 
> animals
> under the current law.
> n These include wild animals, including nonhuman primates born in 
> captivity,
> reptiles, rabbits, farm animals, including any breed of horse, pony, or
> miniature horse, pigs, goats, ferrets, amphibians, and rodents.
> What is a therapy animal?
> n Currently, there is no definition of a therapy, comfort, or emotional
> support animal in the ADA.
> n These animals are not covered by the ADA because they do not meet the
> definition of service animal.
> 6
> Not Service Animals
> n When the new regs go into effect, the DOJ's position on whether comfort
> animals are covered as service animals is: "animals who sole function is 
> to
> provide emotional support, comfort, therapy, companionship, therpeutic
> benefits, or promote emotional well-being are not service animals."
> Psychiatric Service Animals
> n Because of the ADA requirement that
> animals be able to "do work or perform
> tasks," in most cases, animals that assist people with psychiatric
> disabilities were considered to be comfort animals and, therefore, not
> service animals.
> n The new regs recognize that there are "psychiatric service animals."
> 7
> Tasks
> n The new regs discuss psychiatric service animals that can be trained to
> perform a variety of tasks for individuals with disabilities, including
> detecting the onset of psychiatric episodes or ameliorating their effects.
> Other tasks
> n Other examples of tasks that might be performed by a psychiatric service
> animals include reminding a person to take meds, turning on lights or
> performing safety checks for persons with PTSD, interrupting 
> self-mutilation
> for individuals who have dissociative identity disorders, and keeping
> disoriented persons from danger.
> 8
> But
> n This expressly does not expand that
> definition of service animal to include comfort animals.
> Remember
> n In general, service animals have protections under the ADA, but comfort
> animals do not.
> n The new regs, however, do recognize that the exclusion of comfort 
> animals
> is specifically for the non-employment provisions of the ADA and that such
> animals might be differently considered in employment settings, where 
> there
> might be compelling reasons to allow comfort animals as a reasonable
> accommodation.
> 9
> What proof do you need?
> n A service animal is not required to wear a special collar or harness.
> n A service animal is not required to have papers certifying its training.
> n So if it isn't obvious, how does a business know whether an animal is a
> service animal?
> What can people ask?
> n It is all right to ask the handler if the animal is a service animal
> required because of disability.
> n It is all right to ask whether the animal performs specific tasks for 
> the
> person.
> n Disability-specific questions may not be asked.
> 10
> WalMart Settlement
> n In January 2009, the DOJ and Walmart
> reached an agreement about service
> animals in which Walmart agrees that a
> greeter or store manager may ask only
> one question, and that the question can be asked only if the need for the
> animal is not obvious. The question is -- "Is this a service animal 
> required
> because of a disability?"
> Out Of Control
> n Because of the nature of their work, it is unusual for a service animal 
> to
> ever display any "out of control" behaviors.
> n Businesses may exclude an animal whose behavior poses a direct threat to
> the health or safety of others.
> n This must be based on actual risk and not on potential risk or
> generalizations.
> 11
> What About Other People?
> n Sometimes other customers might be
> afraid of service animals.
> n If that happens, it might be possible to allow that customer to avoid
> getting close to the service animal.
> Fees or Pet Deposits
> n A business may not charge a deposit,
> surcharge, cleaning fee or any other fee to an individual with a 
> disability
> as a condition to allowing the service animal to accompany the individual,
> even if the business has a policy of charging customers fees or deposits 
> for
> pets.
> n Service animals are not pets.
> 12
> Smelly Dogs
> n Entities, especially schools, colleges, and universities, often have
> problems with service animals being unclean and downright stinky.
> n It is all right to have a policy that says that dogs must be clean and
> free from offensive odors.
> Proof of Vaccination
> n Although an entity may not require proof of training or any kind of
> certification for a service animal, it is all right to require proof that
> the animal is current on all vaccinations that are required by law.
> 13
> Title I -- employment
> n Service animals are allowed to accompany individuals with disabilities 
> to
> their places of employment.
> n Comfort animals might be allowed under certain circumstances as a
> reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability.
> State and Local Governments
> n State and local governments may not
> prohibit service animals from programs or services of the government 
> entity.
>
> n Surcharges or deposits may not be
> charged, even if they are charged for
> other animals, such as pets.
> 14
> Title III: Public Accommodations
> n Places of public accommodation, such as hotels, restaurants, bars,
> theaters, auditoriums, parks, stores, law offices, doctor offices, banks,
> bus stations, museums, amusement bars, salons, dry cleaners, spas, social
> service centers, golf courses, real estate offices, gyms, and coffee 
> shops,
> may not exclude service animals from any area that is open to the public.
> Transportation
> n The ADA also applies to transportation providers.
> n If the provider is a government entity, (as is the case for subways, 
> fixed
> route buses, paratransit, rail, and light rail), it is covered under Title
> II.
> n If the provider is a private entity offering taxi, car, or limo service,
> it is covered by Title III.
> 15
> Fair Housing Act
> n The FHA was passed in 1968 to provide protection from discrimination in
> housing, based on race, color, national origin, or gender.
> n In 1988, it was amended to expand
> protection from housing discrimination to other classes, including
> disability and familial status.
> What is prohibited
> n Landlords, condominium associations, and other housing providers are
> prohibited from discriminating against housing applicants or residents
> because of their disability or because of the disability of anyone
> associated with them, as well as from treating persons with disabilities
> less favorably than others because of their disability.
> 16
> Reasonable Accommodations
> n The FHA also mandates that housing
> providers make reasonable
> accommodations in rules, policies,
> practices, or services when necessary so that a person with a disability 
> has
> the equal opportunity to use and enjoy the housing.
> n That is the key provision when discussing animals.
> Like the ADA
> n Everything we've discussed that pertains to service animals under the 
> ADA
> also applies to service animals under the FHA.
> But -
> n While the ADA does not provide coverage for therapy animals, comfort
> animals, or pets, the Fair Housing Act may.
> 17
> Emotional Support Animals
> n Therapy animals are used as part of a medical treatment plan to provide
> companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with depression and
> certain phobias. They are not service animals because they do not do work 
> or
> perform tasks that assist people with disabilities.
> "No Pets Allowed"
> n Under the FHA, such comfort or therapy animals may be allowed in 
> housing,
> even if there is a "no pets" policy in place.
> 18
> Reasonable Accommodation
> n The FHA definition of housing
> discrimination includes the refusal to grant "reasonable accommodations in
> rules, polices, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be
> necessary to afford such person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a
> dwelling."
> Waiver
> n Waiving a no-pets rule to allow a person with a disability to have the
> assistance of a service animal, or a comfort animal, constitutes a
> reasonable accommodation.
> n Courts have found that landlords must use "a flexible standard, based on
> the needs of the particular tenant" when responding to a request for an
> accommodation.
> 19
> Air Carrier Access Act
> n The ACAA prohibits discrimination because of disability in air travel.
> n It applies to all domestic airlines.
> n It also applies to foreign airlines that fly into or out of the U.S.,
> although there are some differences that we will discuss.
> Service Animals
> Air carriers are required to allow service animals traveling with people
> with disabilities to sit with them in the cabin of the aircraft.
> 20
> Definition of Service Animal
> n Different definition than under the ADA n Includes guide dogs, signal
> dogs, psychiatric service animals, and emotional support animals Pets
> Persons traveling with pets, as opposed to service animals or emotional
> support animals, do not have any rights under the ACAA.
> 21
> Questions
> n Personnel may ask questions and request documentation in certain
> circumstances to determine whether the person is entitled to travel with a
> service animal.
> n A common misconception among
> passengers is that, once you invoke
> disability, questions are forbidden.
> n The types of question that may be asked vary depending the disability &
> the animal.
> Documentation
> n Additionally, documentation may be
> required.
> n The level of documentation that may be required depends on the person's
> disability and the type of service animal.
> 22
> Why does it depend on that?
> n Shouldn't all disabilities be treated the same?
> n The reasoning behind the variation
> includes:
> n Many people with disabilities who travel do not have obvious 
> disabilities
> and the need for a service animal is not apparent; and n Even for some
> individuals with obvious disabilities, the need for the service animal may
> not be apparent.
> If the person has an
> obvious disability and.
> n The service animal is wearing a harness, tags, vests, or backpack; or n
> The person provides identification cards or other written documentation; 
> or
> n The person provides credible verbal assurances that the animal is a
> service animal - Then the airline should permit the animal to accompany 
> the
> person on the plane.
> 23
> Additional Questions
> n If personnel are not certain of the animal's status, even after being 
> told
> that it is a service animal, they can ask things like:
> n What tasks or functions does your animal perform for you?
> n What has the animal been trained to do for you?
> n Would you describe how the animal performs this task or function for 
> you?
> Emotional Support or
> Psychiatric Service Animals
> For these animals, airlines may request very specific diagnostic
> documentation to be provided 48 hours in advance of the flight.
> 24
> Documentation must:
> n Be current (not more than 1 year old); n Be on letterhead from a 
> licensed
> mental health professional; n State that the person has a mental or
> emotional disability recognized in the DSM IV; and n State that the animal
> is needed as an accommodation for air travel or for activity at the
> individual's destination.
> Also
> n The documentation should also state that the health professional is
> treating the individual and include the date and type of the mental health
> professional's license and the state or other jurisdiction in which it was
> issued.
> n It does not need to state the person's diagnosis.
> 25
> Unusual Animals
> n Unusual animals like miniature horses, pigs, and monkeys may be allowed 
> to
> travel as service animals.
> n It depends on.
> Depends on what?
> n The airline may take into account the animal's size, weight, and whether
> the animal would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others, 
> or
> cause a significant disruption in cabin service.
> n If there are restrictions on the animal at the final destination, the
> animal may be denied.
> 26
> Even more unusual animals
> Snakes, other reptiles, ferrets, rodents, and spiders will be denied
> boarding the plane at all, as they may pose other safety and public health
> concerns.
> Dogs only
> n Foreign carriers are required to transport only dogs as service animals.
> 27
> Barking and Jumping
> n If a service animal barks, growls, jumps on people, or misbehaves in 
> ways
> that indicate that the animal has not been trained to behave properly in
> public settings, poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others,
> or poses a significant risk of disruption in airline service, it may be
> denied boarding.
> Other customers
> n Service animals cannot be denied passage because other customers are
> allergic to, annoyed by, or afraid of, animals.
> n The airline will make accommodations to assure that other passengers are
> comfortable.
> 28
> Severe Allergies
> n If a passenger with a severe allergy that rises to the level of a
> disability cannot travel in the same cabin as the animal, a carrier may
> rebook one of the passengers on another flight.
> Preboarding
> Passengers with a service animal may
> request preboarding and ask for a
> bulkhead seat or a seat that better suits their needs.
> 29
> Seating
> n A person traveling with a service animal may request any seat unless it
> blocks an aisle or an area designated for emergency evacuation.
> n If the person cannot be accommodated in a requested seat, then s/he must
> be given the opportunity to move to another seat within the same class of
> service.
> Not Required
> n The airline does not have to ask other passengers to give up all or most
> of the space in front of their seats to accommodate space for a service
> animal.
> n The airline may try to find someone willing to do that.
> 30
> Voluntary Response
> The airline can voluntarily reseat a person traveling with a service 
> animal
> to a business or first-class seat to accommodate a service animal, but it 
> is
> not required to do so.
> In-flight services for animals
> n In-flight services and facilities do not have to be provided to service
> animals.
> n Owners traveling with animals must
> provide for the animal's food, care, and supervision.
> 31
> Terminal Relief
> In the terminal, airlines must provide animal relief areas and must 
> provide
> escort service to individuals traveling with service animals to these 
> areas,
> when requested.
> Undue Burden
> n Airlines are not required to make
> modifications for service animals that
> would constitute an undue burden or
> would fundamentally alter their programs.
> 32
> Questions
> Let's talk now
> or
> Email me any time
> <mailto:jbrennan at bcm.edu> jbrennan at bcm.edu.
>
>
>
> Sheila Styron
> 816-896-6552
> sheilastyron at everestkc.net
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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