[Cagdu] FW: USA: Commonly Asked Questions About Service Animals in Places of Business
tina thomas
tinadt at sbcglobal.net
Sat Feb 23 18:54:16 PST 2008
Subject: USA: Commonly Asked Questions About Service Animals in Places of
Business
http://www.usdoj. <http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/qasrvc.htm>
gov/crt/ada/qasrvc.htm
Commonly Asked Questions About Service Animals in
Places of Business
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section
Department of Justice Seal
horizontal border
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT
SERVICE ANIMALS IN PLACES OF BUSINESS
1. Q: What are the laws that apply to my business?
Block quote start
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.
Block quote end
2. Q: What is a service animal?
Block quote start
A: The ADA defines a service animal as any 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:
Block quote start
_ 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.
Block quote end
A service animal is not a pet.
Block quote end
3. Q: How can I tell if an animal is really a service
animal and not just a pet?
Block quote start
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.
Block quote end
4. Q: What must I do when an individual with a service
animal comes to my business?
Block quote start
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.
Block quote end
5. Q: I have always had a clearly posted "no pets"
policy at my establishment. Do I still have to allow
service animals in?
Block quote start
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.
Block quote end
6. Q: My county health department has told me that
only a guide dog has to be admitted. If I follow those
regulations, am I violating the ADA?
Block quote start
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.
Block quote end
7. Q: Can I charge a maintenance or cleaning fee for
customers who bring service animals into my business?
Block quote start
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.
Block quote end
8. 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?
Block quote start
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.
Block quote end
9. Q: Am I responsible for the animal while the person
with a disability is in my business?
Block quote start
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.
Block quote end
10. Q: What if a service animal barks or growls at
other people, or otherwise acts out of control?
Block quote start
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.
Block quote end
11. Q: Can I exclude an animal that doesn't really
seem dangerous but is disruptive to my business?
Block quote start
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.
Block quote end
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).
July 1996, updated January 14, 2008
Reproduction of this document is
encouraged.
http://www.usdoj. <http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/qasrvc.htm>
gov/crt/ada/qasrvc.htm
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