| Copied from: DOJ web site,
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/svcanimb.htm
6/12005 U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Disability Rights Section |
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Americans with Disabilities Act
ADA Business BRIEF: Service Animals
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Service animals are animals that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities such as guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, or performing other special tasks. Service animals are working animals, not pets. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), businesses and organizations that serve the public must allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals into all areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to go. This federal law applies to all businesses open to the public, including restaurants, hotels, taxis and shuttles, grocery and department stores, hospitals and medical offices, theaters, health clubs, parks, and zoos. Businesses that serve the public must allow people with disabilities to enter with their service animal. |
- Businesses may ask if an animal is a service animal or ask what tasks the animal has been trained to perform, but cannot require special ID cards for the animal or ask about the person's disability.
- People with disabilities who use service animals cannot be charged extra fees, isolated from other patrons, or treated less favorably than other patrons. However, if a business such as a hotel normally charges guests for damage that they cause, a customer with a disability may be charged for damage caused by his or her service animal.
- A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless: (1) the animal is out of control and the animal's owner does not take effective action to control it (for example, a dog that barks repeatedly during a movie) or (2) the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others.
- In these cases, the business should give the person with the disability the option to obtain goods and services without having the animal on the premises.
- Businesses that sell or prepare food must allow service animals in public areas even if state or local health codes prohibit animals on the premises.
- A business is not required to provide care or food for a service animal or provide a special location for it to relieve itself.
- Allergies and fear of animals are generally not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people with service animals.
- Violators of the ADA can be required to pay money damages and penalties.
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Service animals are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities. If you have additional questions concerning the ADA and service animals, please call the Department's ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 (voice) or (800) 514-0383 (TTY) or visit the ADA Business Connection at: http://www.ada.gov Duplication is encouraged. April 2002, by DOJ |
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COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SERVICE ANIMALS IN PLACES OF BUSINESS |
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| 1. | What are the laws that apply to my business? |
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Under the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), privately owned businesses
that serve the public, such as restaurants, hotels, retail
stores, taxicabs, theaters, concert halls, and sports facilities,
are prohibited from discriminating against individuals with
disabilities. The ADA requires these businesses to allow people
with disabilities to bring their service animals onto business
premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed. |
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| 2. | What is a service animal? |
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The ADA
defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other
animal individually trained to provide assistance to an
individual with a disability. If they meet this definition,
animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless
of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or
local government. Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the individual with a disability cannot perform for him or herself. "Seeing eye dogs" are one type of service animal, used by some individuals who are blind. This is the type of service animal with which most people are familiar. But there are service animals that assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day activities. Some examples include:
A service
animal is not a pet. |
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| 3. | How can I tell if an animal is really a service animal and not just a pet? |
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Some, but not
all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some,
but not all, are licensed or certified and have identification
papers. If you are not certain that an animal is a service
animal, you may ask the person who has the animal if it is a
service animal required because of a disability. However, an
individual who is going to a restaurant or theater is not likely
to be carrying documentation of his or her medical condition or
disability. Therefore, such documentation generally may not be
required as a condition for providing service to an individual
accompanied by a service animal. Although a number of states have
programs to certify service animals, you may not insist on proof
of state certification before permitting the service animal to
accompany the person with a disability. |
| 4. | What must I do when an individual with a service animal comes to my business? |
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The service
animal must be permitted to accompany the individual with a
disability to all areas of the facility where customers are
normally allowed to go. An individual with a service animal may
not be segregated from other customers. |
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| 5. | I have always had a clearly posted "no pets" policy at my establishment. Do I still have to allow service animals in? |
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Yes. A service
animal is not a pet. The ADA requires you to modify your "no
pets" policy to allow the use of a service animal by a person
with a disability. This does not mean you must abandon your "no
pets" policy altogether but simply that you must make an
exception to your general rule for service animals. |
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6. |
My county health department has told me that only a seeing eye or guide dog has to be admitted. If I follow those regulations, am I violating the ADA? |
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Yes, if you
refuse to admit any other type of service animal on the basis of
local health department regulations or other state or local laws.
The ADA provides greater protection for individuals with
disabilities and so it takes priority over the local or state
laws or regulations. |
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| 7. | Can I charge a maintenance or cleaning fee for customers who bring service animals into my business? |
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No. Neither a
deposit nor a surcharge may be imposed on an individual with a
disability as a condition to allowing a service animal to
accompany the individual with a disability, even if deposits are
routinely required for pets. However, a public accommodation may
charge its customers with disabilities if a service animal causes
damage so long as it is the regular practice of the entity to
charge non-disabled customers for the same types of damages. For
example, a hotel can charge a guest with a disability for the
cost of repairing or cleaning furniture damaged by a service
animal if it is the hotel's policy to charge when non-disabled
guests cause such damage. |
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| 8. | I operate a private taxicab and I don't want animals in my taxi; they smell, shed hair and sometimes have "accidents." Am I violating the ADA if I refuse to pick up someone with a service animal? |
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Yes. Taxicab
companies may not refuse to provide services to individuals with
disabilities. Private taxicab companies are also prohibited from
charging higher fares or fees for transporting individuals with
disabilities and their service animals than they charge to other
persons for the same or equivalent service. |
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| 9. | Am I responsible for the animal while the person with a disability is in my business? |
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No. The care
or supervision of a service animal is solely the responsibility
of his or her owner. You are not required to provide care or food
or a special location for the animal. |
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| 10. | What if a service animal barks or growls at other people, or otherwise acts out of control? |
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You may
exclude any animal, including a service animal, from your
facility when that animal's behavior poses a direct threat to the
health or safety of others. For example, any service animal that
displays vicious behavior towards other guests or customers may
be excluded. You may not make assumptions, however, about how a
particular animal is likely to behave based on your past
experience with other animals. Each situation must be considered
individually. Although a public accommodation may exclude any service animal that is out of control, it should give the individual with a disability who uses the service animal the option of continuing to enjoy its goods and services without having the service animal on the premises. |
| 11. | Can I exclude an animal that doesn't really seem dangerous but is disruptive to my business? |
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There may be a
few circumstances when a public accommodation is not required to
accommodate a service animal—that
is, when doing so would result in a fundamental alteration to the
nature of the business. Generally, this is not likely to occur in
restaurants, hotels, retail stores, theaters, concert halls, and
sports facilities. But when it does, for example, when a dog
barks during a movie, the animal can be excluded. |
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If you have further questions about service animals or other requirements of the ADA, you may call the U.S. Department of Justice's toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (voice) or 800-514-0383 (TDD). Text and photos above from DOJ web site are not copyright |
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