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Service Dogs
and
Assistance Dogs |
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Teamwork
with a trained assistance dog empowers disabled individuals to function with greater self sufficiency, to prevent injuries, and to overcome or mitigate the difficulties imposed by many disabling physical
and psychiatric conditions. |
Dogs pages Index | Service
Dogs page
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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A business is not required to provide care or food for a service animal or provide a special location for it to relieve itself.
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Allergies
and fear of animals are generally not valid reasons for denying access
or refusing service to people with service animals.
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Violators of the ADA can be required to pay money damages and penalties.
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
ada.gov. |
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| 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:
- Alerting persons with
hearing impairments to sounds.
- Pulling wheelchairs or
carrying and picking up things for persons with mobility impairments.
- Assisting persons with
mobility impairments with balance.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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
Click here for Printable Version |
Dogs pages Index | Service
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