Is it a service animal, an emotional support animal or a pet?

Only the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can guide you through the decision-making process. But once you determine the status of an employee’s animal, what are an employer’s obligations?

This information is from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Americans with Disabilities Act website. For more details on the ADA and service animals, visit this resource.

Understanding Legal Coverage

First, know that state and federal laws have different thresholds for their coverage. The ADA only applies to companies with 15 or more employees, while the Massachusetts anti-discrimination law. M.G.L. c. 151A, which includes handicapped (disabled) individuals, applies to employers with six or more employees.

What Qualifies as a Service Animal?

Another limitation under the ADA is that only dogs and occasionally trained miniature horses meet the definition of a service animal.

To determine whether an animal is a service animal, an employer needs to consider two questions:

1. Is the service animal required because of a disability?
2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

An employer may not ask these questions if the need for the service animal is obvious. Examples of it being obvious include when a dog is guiding a visually impaired individual, alerting a person with a hearing impairment, or pulling a person’s wheelchair.

Employer Restrictions on Service Animal Inquiries

An employer may not:

• ask about the nature or extent of an individual’s disability
• require proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal
• require the animal to wear an identifying vest or tag
• ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the task or work

Service Animal Training and Responsibilities

Under the ADA, the training distinguishes a service animal from other animals. Some service animals may be professionally trained; others may have been trained by their owners.  The law allows for both. However, the task that the service animal is trained to do must be directly related to the owner’s disability.

The disabled person is responsible for the care and supervision of the service animal. If a service animal behaves unacceptably and the disabled person does not control the animal, a business has the right to ask that the dog be removed. A business also has the right to deny access to a dog that disrupts its business operation or poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others. For example, if a service dog barks repeatedly or growls at customers, it could be asked to leave.

While the ADA does not specifically address service animals in training, Massachusetts law grants them the same status as fully trained service animals. More information about service animals in Massachusetts is here.

Where Are Service Animals Allowed?

Trained service dogs are permitted to go wherever their handler is permitted to go, meaning that they:

• Are allowed even if others have fears of or allergies to dogs.
• Must be under the handler’s control at all times. In most cases, this means on a harness or leash.
• Must be housebroken.
• May not pose a legitimate, direct threat to health or safety.
• Do not have to be allowed to sit on furniture meant for patrons, eat from plates provided by a food service establishment, or ride in shopping carts.

Service Animals in the Workplace

Another limitation on service dogs in the workplace is that the employer may restrict where the animal may go on the employer’s premises.  For example, in a workplace providing medical care, the animal may be excluded from areas where a sterile environment will be compromised.  However, the EEOC’s ADA guidance indicates that service animals must be allowed to accompany a person with a disability in all facility areas where the public can go.  This will apply even to areas where animals are generally excluded, such as the public area of a restaurant where state or local health codes prohibit animals on the premises.

Emotional Support Animals

Animals whose sole function is to provide comfort, emotional support, or assistance are not service animals and, therefore, are not covered by the ADA.  However, employers may receive requests from applicants or employees seeking permission for their emotional support animal to accompany them. The Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a US Department of Labor service, provides guidance for handling such an accommodation request.

Documenting Accommodation Efforts

Given how every disability situation must be addressed on a case-by-case basis, an employer should document whatever effort it makes or attempts to make for the service animal.

If you have any questions about this or other HR issues, contact the AIM Helpline at 1-800-470-6277 or helpline@aimnet.org.