Service & Emotional Support Animals in the Workplace Panelists: - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Service & Emotional Support Animals in the Workplace Panelists: - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

May 09, 2023 272 likes •590 views

Service & Emotional Support Animals in the Workplace Panelists: Kathleen Wolfe, Aaron Konopasky, Linda Carter Batiste, Beth Loy, and Tiffany Jolliff Moderator: Mia Ives-Rublee Introduction As service and emotional service animals have

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Service & Emotional Support Animals in the Workplace

Panelists: Kathleen Wolfe, Aaron Konopasky, Linda Carter Batiste, Beth Loy, and Tiffany Jolliff Moderator: Mia Ives-Rublee

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Introduction

  • As service and emotional service animals have become more

prevalent, employers and the public have increasingly asked for assistance to understand the laws and policies around them.

  • The Federal Government has numerous policies, guidelines and laws

addressing service and emotional support animals. These tend to

  • verlap one another and can get confusing.
  • The Federal Interagency Disability Policy Group has created a

workgroup to review the issues that people with disabilities face around the use of service and emotional support animals.

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Panel

  • Today, we invited panelists to talk to FEED members about how

service and emotional support animals affect the federal workplace environment.

  • Panelists include:
  • Kathleen Wolfe, Special Litigation Counsel from the Civil Rights Division of U.S.

DOJ

  • Aaron Konopasky, Attorney Advisor from the Office of Legal Counsel at EEOC
  • Linda Carter Batiste, Principal Consultant at the Job Accommodations

Network (JAN)

  • Beth Loy, Principal Consultant at JAN
  • Tiffany Jolliff, Program Specialist from the Office of Disability Employment

Policy at DOL

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U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

Service Animals Titles II and III of the ADA

Kathleen Wolfe U.S. Department of Justice November 8, 2018

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U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

SERVICE ANIMALS: ADA Titles II and III

Basic Rule: A public entity shall modify its policies, practices or procedures to permit the use of a service animal. Rule of Thumb: Allow service animal to go anywhere members

  • f public go
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U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

SERVICE ANIMALS: ADA Title itles II II an and III III A dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, psychiatric, sensory, intellectual or other mental disability.

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U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

SERVICE ANIMALS: ADA Title itles II II an and III III

Service Animal Definition

□ Limits species to dogs □ A dog that is individually trained ■ Professional training not required ■ Dogs in training are not service animals Must be able to perform disability-related task

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U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

SERVICE ANIMALS: ADA Title itles II II an and III III □ A dog that is individually trained to perform work

  • r tasks
  • Guiding or wayfaring
  • Alerting to sounds
  • Detecting the onset of a seizure and assist during

seizure

  • Retrieving items

Service Animal Definition

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U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

SERVICE ANIMALS: ADA Title itles II II an and III III

Psychiatric Service Animal

Service dogs for people with psychiatric disabilities are recognized under DOJ regulations

  • Dog takes independent action to alert – e.g.,

prior to anxiety/panic attack

  • Dog’s action is consistent
  • Handler generally does not cue dog
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U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

SERVICE ANIMALS: ADA Title itles II II an and III III

Emotional Support/Comfort?

Providing emotional support or comfort is not a recognized task under DOJ service animal regulations

  • If the dog’s mere presence provides comfort, it is not a

service animal under DOJ regulations

  • You typically cannot determine on sight whether a dog is a

service animal under the ADA or an emotional support or comfort animal that is not covered by the ADA.

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U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

SERVICE ANIMALS: ADA Title itles II II an and III III

Questions and Documentation

□ Two permissible questions □ No certification, identification, licensure or registration required DOJ does not recognize any document sold online by any individual or organization as proof that a dog is a service animal

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Council

Service Animals Title I of the ADA

Aaron Konoposky November 8, 2018

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Council

Animals in the Workplace as Reasonable Accommodations

  • Animals are not specifically addressed in the text of the

ADA/Section 501, or in EEOC regulations BUT

  • Statutes and regulations make clear that reasonable

accommodations include “appropriate modification of … policies” – EEOC Technical Assistance Manual (1991): Modifying a “no- animal” policy to allow a guide dog for a blind employee is a form of reasonable accommodation

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Council

No Restrictions

  • EEOC has never imposed any restrictions on animals as

reasonable accommodations, other than restrictions that apply generally (required only if needed because of a disability and will not impose undue hardship) – Species – Whether the animal must perform a service (whether it is a “service animal”) – Certification or training

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Council

Documentation

  • Where a disability and the need for the animal are obvious

(e.g., a guide dog for someone who is blind), no documentation is required

  • Where not obvious, employer may get reasonable

documentation that the employee has a disability and needs the accommodation – No requirement to show that the animal is trained or certified

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Council

Alternative Accommodations

  • Employers generally may require an employee to

accept an alternative accommodation if it is effective

  • However, employers generally should avoid requiring

alternatives to service animals – Compare: EEOC has said that an employer should not tell an employee what medications to use

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Council

Effect on Other Employers

  • If the service animal affects another employee

because of his or her disability (e.g., an allergy or phobia that substantially limits a major life activity), the employer may have to provide a reasonable accommodation to the other employee: – Separate paths of travel – Telework for one or both employees – Alternatives to in-person communication, such as by allowing participation in meetings by phone, even when an employee is in the office

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Legal Council

Undue Hardship

  • An employer may show that the service animal’s effect on
  • thers imposes an undue hardship on the business if the

animal: – Is disruptive – Poses a direct threat (i.e., a significant risk to health or safety) – Is not properly cared for by handler

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FEED: Service Animals

Linda Carter Batiste, J.D., & Beth Loy, Ph.D. Principal Consultants Job Accommodation Network

JAN is funded by a contract with the Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor.

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FEED: Service Animals

Accommodation Issues:

Allergies and phobias Animal care Restrictions Other issues

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FEED: Service Animals

Helpful Tips:

Process requests on a case by case basis Don’t make assumptions Allow animal when possible Customize accommodations

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FEED: Service Animals

Documentation Issues:

How to document What is allowed?

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FEED: Service Animals

Helpful Tips:

Document disability in the regular way Consider other documentation related to the animal Consider a demonstration or trial period

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FEED: Service Animals

Liability Issues:

Injuries or property damage Insurance

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FEED: Service Animals

Helpful Tips:

Check your policy and workers compensation Don’t treat the employee differently than other employees

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FEED: Service Animals

Confidentiality Issues:

Coworkers Customers/clients

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FEED: Service Animals

Helpful Tips:

Do general disability awareness training Talk with the employee

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FEED: Service Animals

Resources:

Service Animals as Workplace Accommodations at https://askjan.org/topics/servanim.cfm Emotional Support Animals in the Workplace: A Practical Approach at https://askjan.org/publications/consultants-corner/vol12iss04.cfm Service Animals and Allergies in the Workplace at https://askjan.org/publications/consultants-corner/vol02iss01.cfm

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Personal Experience

Tiffany Jolliff November 8, 2018

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QUESTIONS?

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Thank you for attending!

Contacts:

  • Kathleen Wolfe: Kathleen.Wolfe@USDOJ.gov
  • Aaron Konopasky: Aaron.Konopasky@EEOC.gov
  • Linda Carter Batiste: Batiste@jan.wvu.edu
  • Beth Loy: Loy@jan.wvu.edu
  • Tiffany Jolliff: Jolliff.Tiffany.N@DOL.gov
  • Mia Ives-Rublee: Mia.Ives-Rublee@EEOC.gov