Reasonable Accommodations in the Workplace

[Abhean]

Ready to take your service dog to the workplace? Need to know what you have to do to accomplish this?

As with everything nothing is as easy as simply taking your service dog to work, there are hoops you have to jump through to be able to do this. This is not only for the well-being of the company you work for but also for the safety of the service dog team and those around them.

The EEOC and the ADA are the main keyholders in this process. In most cases, the employee has to fill out or request a reasonable accommodation due to their disability. Sometimes this is as simple as going to the human resource office and talking with them, normally this will get the ball rolling. Sometimes the employee has to educate the company on what reasonable accommodations are, why they are needed, and even help mold a new company policy. So, what is "reasonable accommodations"?

Defined by the ADA:

A reasonable accommodation is any change to the application or hiring process, to the job, to the way the job is done, or the work environment that allows a person with a disability who is qualified for the job to perform the essential functions of that job and enjoy equal employment opportunities. Accommodations are considered "reasonable" if they do not create an undue hardship or a direct threat.

So, bringing your service dog onto a worksite is considered "reasonable" and should be allowed unless the company can show an "undue hardship" or a "direct threat" within the company.

What could be said is an "undue hardship"? I found this over Here.

Your employer can deny your request to have your service animal at work if it would create an undue hardship. Your employer is not allowed to simply say that dogs are not allowed at the workplace or that it would be disruptive. Instead, your employer must demonstrate that allowing your accommodation would create a substantial burden or cost given the employer's resources and size and the other accommodation expenses the employer currently has.

Some employers have concerns that allowing a worker to bring a service dog would create an undue hardship because other workers have severe allergies to dogs. In this type of situation, there might be solutions that are not overly expensive or disruptive. The employers might be able to move employees away from one another, provide air filters, and arranging for the service dog to be kept elsewhere when employees must attend meetings together. They might also be able to create schedules for using public spaces so that allergic employees are not exposed to the service animal.

Your employer is allowed to require that you do not allow your animal to be disruptive at work. For example, your employer can require that you keep your dog under control at all times. Your employer can also require that your service animal must be well-behaved. Your service or support animal should be clean and free of fleas, and you should schedule times to take it outside when necessary to relieve itself during the workday.

I suggest that a team that is about to file for reasonable accommodations do some brainstorming beforehand. Attempt to come up with the employer's doubts, worries, and questions and have the answers ready. It is very hard to say "no" when there are solutions that have already been made. Example: employer says no because several people that you work around have severe allergies to dogs, but you know there is another area you could work from that would alleviate this problem.

What can an employer ask for when filing a Reasonable Accommodation?

Employers are granted a lot more leeway when reviewing a team for reasonable accommodations. So the golden 2 questions are not going to be enough. This will be more in line with requesting housing with a service dog or ESA.

extensive medical information regarding the employee's disability and explaining how the service animal's presence will relate to his or her ability to perform the duties of the job

Forms I have seen have included things like:

• Doctors note saying that the dog is needed
• Shot records
• Training records or notes from the dog trainer
• examples of how or what the dog can do for the handler that is needed on the worksite