What businesses need to know about the ADA and service dogs
By Stephanie Bertholdo

bertholdo@theacorn.com

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that any business or organization that serves the public allow service animals into its facility. The customer is allowed to bring a service animal into any section of the business where customers usually go. The law applies to restaurants, retail stores, grocery stores, department stores, hospitals, parks, medical offices, taxis, shuttles, theaters, health clubs— anywhere and any business.

Service animals are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities. Such tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who’s having a seizure or performing other special tasks. While psychiatric service dogs may be difficult to identify, the law clearly protects the rights of the person who uses a trained animal to overcome phobias, social disorders and other psychological disabilities.

The United States Department of Justice website explains the ADA at www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/ svcanimb.htm. It states, “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.”

The following points are required under the ADA, and businesses that don’t comply are breaking the law and are at risk for monetary penalties. The following information was taken from the Department of Justice website:

•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 doesn’t 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 isn’t 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.

For more information concerning the ADA and service animals, call the Justice Department’s ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 (voice) or (800) 514-0383 (TTY) or visit the ADA Business Connection online at www.ada.gov.