Q: What are the laws that apply to my business?
A: 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.
Q: What is a service animal?
A: The ADA defines a service animal as any seeing
eye dog, 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. Guide 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.
Q: How can I tell if an animal is really a
service animal and not just a pet?
A: 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.
Q: What must I do when an individual with a
service animal comes to my business?
A: 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.
Q: I have always had a clearly posted "no
pets" policy at my establishment. Do I still have to allow service
animals?
A: 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.
Q: 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?
A: 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.
Q: Can I charge a maintenance or cleaning fee for
customers who bring service animals into my business?
A: 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.
Q: 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?
A: 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.
Q: Am I responsible for the animal while the
person with a disability is in my business?
A: 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.
Q: What if a service animal barks or growls at
other people, or otherwise acts out of control?
A: 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.
Q: Can I exclude an animal that doesn't really
seem dangerous but is disruptive to my business?
A: 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.
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).
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