Renewed Attention to Support Animals

Nov 2, 2018, 12:13 PM

(from CUPA-HR) The recent kerfuffle involving a Frontier Airlines passenger and her attempt to fly with an emotional support squirrel has drawn renewed attention to support animals. What workplace requirements are currently in place? In 2010, the Department of Justice revised the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act to clarify questions about service animals. According to Title III of the ADA, a service animal is trained to provide specific support or service to an individual with an eligible disability. There are no provisions for emotional support or therapy animals in the ADA; however, some states do provide protections for emotional support animals. The DOJ has provided clarification on some specific concerns employers have regarding compliance around support animals:

According to the Fair Housing Act, an emotional support animal is a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development holds that an assistance animal is an animal that works, provides assistance or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or that provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified effects of a person’s disability.