Treating service animal requests (always treat the animal)
Service animal pop quiz (yes/no):
- The ADA permits assistance dogs to be with their person where members of the public can go (yes)
- The ADA requires service dogs to be professionally trained (no)
- Minature horses are covered under the ADA and Great Danes can be the size of miniature horses (yes and yes - I saw two at the dog park last night)
Peter Petesch at our partner Littler, suggests, among other things in this SHRM article, covering the following when handling service animal requests:
- it's an accommodation request
- alternatives?
- doctor's note?
- confidentiality!
- what are the ground rules?
And for those of you in Philadelphia, a BONUS Littler workshop on September 6, Doggy Dilemmas: Accommodating Service Animals for Employees and Customers, complete with a demonstration from Canine Companion's assistance dog Mork.