Q&A: Emotional support animal allowance for employees

We are a fast food restaurant. An employee wants to bring their dog, an emotional support animal (ESA) for anxiety, to work with them. Do we have to allow the employee to bring their ESA dog to work at a restaurant?

While businesses that are considered “places of public accommodation” must as a general rule allow individuals with disabilities to bring their service animals into the business in all areas where customers are allowed, things become more complicated when an employee wants to bring their service animal—or their emotional support animal (ESA)—into the workplace.

Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), “service animals” are protected and have the right to accompany their handlers in any space where the general public is permitted. This includes restaurants, bars, shopping malls, public transport, and any public establishment. However, dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support (“emotional support animals”) do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. Though these animals do have therapeutic benefits, their lack of specific training does not qualify them as service animals.

The employment-related provisions of the ADA are in a different section (Title I) than the public accommodation provisions (Title III), and Title I doesn’t specifically address either service animals or ESAs. So the familiar standards of reasonable accommodation and undue hardship apply, just as they would to any other accommodation request.

In considering an employee’s request to bring a service animal or ESA to the workplace, you should follow the familiar ADA interactive process (assuming your business doesn’t otherwise allow animals in the workplace). A logical first step is to have employees document the basis for the request by identifying their medical condition(s), the resulting limitations, the type and breed of animal, and how the animal will assist them in performing their essential functions.

The regulations for ADA Titles II and III define “service animal” to include only dogs but also recognize that miniature horses may meet the criteria if they have been individually trained to perform work or a specific task for a disabled individual. Although the Title II and III regulations don’t apply to Title I, they are a useful reference point for evaluating whether an employee’s request involves a service animal.

If the employee’s disability and/or need for accommodation is not obvious, then the employer may ask for medical documentation of the disability and functional limitations, as well as the purpose and effectiveness of the animal as an accommodation. Employers will want to ask what services the animal will provide, how it does so, and whether it has been specifically trained to provide those services. (If the employee’s healthcare provider wasn’t involved in recommending or acquiring the animal, consider asking for documentation from the animal’s trainer.)

You may also ask the employee to demonstrate the functions the animal performs or even to have a trial period with the animal in the workplace. The goal is to understand why the animal is needed and what it does for the employee.

Animal-specific questions

Determining whether to allow an animal in your workplace also raises some practical questions that employers won’t encounter with a request for, say, an ergonomic office chair or intermittent time off for migraines. Depending on the type of animal and the type of workplace, the questions might include:

• Has your animal been trained to behave in a workplace without being disruptive?
• Has it ever acted in a violent or vicious manner toward another person?
• How would you like your colleagues to be notified about the presence of the animal? Do they need any training in how to interact with it?
• Is your office/work area sufficient to accommodate its presence?
• Will you need additional breaks for when it needs to relieve itself?
• Can you provide proof of any vaccinations required by local law?

Keep in mind also that concerns about other employees being fearful of or allergic to the animal generally will not be sufficient to demonstrate undue hardship.

Avoid scrutiny (by the EEOC)

Accommodation requests involving service animals and ESAs aren’t common, but when they arise, they must be taken seriously. Given that these animals can satisfy a legitimate need, employers should not simply dismiss requests for emotional support animal companionship. Courts and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have at times found employees’ use of ESAs to be a form of reasonable accommodation.

The EEOC recently illustrated this by filing suit against Hobby Lobby, alleging that one of its stores unlawfully denied an employee’s request to bring her trained service dog to work to alleviate mental health symptoms (even though the store allowed customers’ service dogs) and then terminated her.

So, employers should keep their workplaces off the EEOC’s radar by fully engaging in the interactive process for any accommodation request involving an animal.

Additional resources

The following articles provide additional information regarding ESAs.

This law article provides information regarding the interactive process.

The Department of Justice provides helpful information on the use of service animals, including what questions the public accommodation may ask to certify the animal’s service status and any access limits the public accommodation may impose.

Finally, this article provides useful advice for handling requests to bring an emotional support animal into the workplace.

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