Are employers required to allow emotional support animals in the workplace? What is the legal difference between a service dog and a support animal? - HR Insights

Are employers required to allow emotional support animals in the workplace? What is the legal difference between a service dog and a support animal?

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Question:

Our company recently approved an accommodation for an employee to bring in their service animal. A few employees complained, as they wanted to bring in their pets, which is against our policy. Now, one of them is claiming their dog is a support animal. Am I required to accommodate that? Are employers required to allow emotional support animals in the workplace? What is the legal difference between a service dog and a support animal?

Answer:

Service animals may qualify as a reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability, though are not guaranteed under federal law. Some state laws, like Colorado, give qualified employees the right to be accompanied by their service animal in their place of employment. Support animals generally do not fall under the same definition, though some state laws may vary. However, employers should still go through the interactive process to determine reasonable accommodations.

Long Answer

While there are a couple moving parts to address, the majority of the legwork is found with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). One of the major components of the ADA is the interactive process, in which an employer and employee engage in a discussion about accommodating an employee’s disability.

In context of the question, it may initially appear the employee requesting an accommodation for a support animal is acting in bad faith, but it’s important for the employer to engage in the interactive process regardless. Part of the process includes determining if the employee’s medical condition meets the ADA’s definition of ‘disability’, which can help rule out bad actors.

The interactive process also helps determine what steps could be considered a ‘reasonable accommodation’. In the case of service animals, while the ADA doesn’t specifically address their use in the workplace, they may qualify as a reasonable accommodation. This means under federal law, that employees are not automatically guaranteed use of their service animal, but that the employer should consider whether or not the accommodation would cause undue hardship. Some state laws vary – for example, Colorado does require employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees with service animals, unless they can prove it would cause undue hardship.

It’s important to note that a support animal and a service animal are considered different under the law. The ADA defines a service animal as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities, which means emotional support animals don’t generally fall under this definition. However, there may be some state laws with expanded definitions that differ from federal law.

So does that mean you can deny accommodations for a support animal? Hold your horses – if the employee’s medical condition does qualify as a disability, the interactive process still needs to be completed. However, since accommodations for support animals are not protected under federal law (and many state laws), the employer is not required to make that specific accommodation and through the interactive process should determine if it would be effective for assisting an employer perform their essential job functions.

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Are employers required to allow emotional support animals in the workplace? What is the legal difference between a service dog and a support animal?

Please note: This information is not legal advice and may not reflect specific state or local requirements.