In May, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced it was suing a Maryland-based employer for allegedly violating Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by refusing to allow an employee to bring a service dog to work as a reasonable accommodation for his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Before working for a car dealership as a parts department worker, an Iraq War combat veteran had applied, at his doctor’s urging, for a service dog to help manage panic attacks brought on by PTSD, according to the EEOC. While the parts department employee notified the dealership of his PTSD when he was hired, he was not notified that he would be receiving a service dog until several months after starting the job. The EEOC alleged that when the parts department worker notified his employer of the service dog, the dealership’s human resources team denied the request within 24 hours. According to the EEOC, the dealership never offered any alternative accommodations or followed up with the employee about his request for accommodation.
The employer now faces a federal lawsuit and the threat of having to provide back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages. The case is a stark reminder that an employer must diligently follow the ADA’s interactive process, including when it comes to requests involving service animals.
The ADA and Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace
The ADA—the federal law that addresses, among other things, disability accommodations and discrimination in the workplace—applies to all employers with at least 15 employees. Under the ADA, reasonable accommodations are defined as any changes or adjustments to a job or work environment that permit a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to participate in the job application process, to perform the essential functions of a job, or to enjoy benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by employees without disabilities. For example, reasonable accommodations may include:
- Acquiring or modifying equipment or devices
- Job restructuring
- Part-time or modified work schedules
- Reassignment to a vacant position
- Adjusting or modifying examinations, training materials, or policies
- Providing readers and interpreters
- Making the workplace readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities
It is a violation of the ADA to fail to provide a reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of a qualified individual with a disability, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship.
Key ADA Compliance Takeaways for Employers Responding to Service Animal Requests
Given the EEOC’s allegations in the Maryland car dealership case and faced with an employee’s request to use a service animal, employers:
Should Not Automatically Deny the Request
An employee handbook’s “no animals at work” policy does not trump an employer’s obligations under the ADA for an employee’s reasonable accommodation request related to their service animal.
Should Engage with the Employee
Again, unlike the Maryland employer in the EEOC lawsuit, when an employee requests to bring a service animal to work, an employer must engage in an interactive process to determine whether the employee:
- Has a disability
- Is entitled to a reasonable accommodation
- Request is reasonable
- Request imposes an undue hardship
Should Understand the Definition of a Service Animal
Service animals are generally trained to perform specific tasks for people with disabilities. They are not for emotional support. Employers should be aware of the parameters of their obligations with respect to service animals as an employer and, in some instances, as a place of public accommodation. Note that many states and localities have different definitions of service animals and different requirements with respect to the accommodation of service animals and emotional support animals in the workplace.
Should Consider Alternative Accommodations
The principal test in selecting a particular accommodation is effectiveness, i.e., whether the accommodation will enable the person with a disability to perform the essential functions of the job. It need not be the best accommodation or the accommodation the individual with a disability would prefer. As the employer, you have the final discretion to choose between effective accommodations, and you may select one that is the least expensive or easiest to provide.
Should Study All Aspects of the Service Animal Accommodation
In determining whether an accommodation will create an undue burden, the ADA instructs employees to consider, among other things, other employees’ ability to perform their duties—a critical factor when asked to accommodate the presence of a service animal. Employers should consider how the presence of an animal in the workplace will affect its ability to conduct business and the impact on co-workers, such as those with allergies or phobias. However, in many instances these may not be sufficient reasons to initially deny a request.
Should Consider State and Local Law
For example, under California law, allowing applicants and employees to bring “assistive animals” to work may be a reasonable accommodation. California’s definition of “assistive animal” is much broader than the ADA’s definition of “service animal.” As another example, New York City requires employers to engage in a “cooperative dialogue” with employees requesting an accommodation, which has more stringent standards and more specific requirements than the ADA’s interactive process.
If your company has any questions about how to handle an employee’s request to bring a service animal to work, or complying with the ADA in responding to requests for reasonable accommodation more generally, please contact the authors of this article or any attorney in Venable's Labor and Employment Group.