What Does the Americans with Disabilities Act Say about Service and Emotional Support Animals?

Three Classes of Animals

1. Pets are animals living with owners for purposes of love, affection, and company.
2. Emotional Support Animals provide some therapeutic benefit to persons with mental or psychiatric disability, requiring no specific training. The mere presence of this animal mitigates the effects of the emotional or mental disability.
3. Service Animals are any animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a physical, intellectual, or mental disability (i.e., guiding individuals with impaired vision, providing protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.)

Americans with Disabilities Act (Titles II and III)

•  Congress intended that public places take necessary steps to accommodation service animals and ensure that individuals do not get separated from their service animals.
• Only protects service animals in public places (not emotional support animals, and does not touch private residences)
• Access to public services, programs, activities, and accommodations of government or private entities.
• Entity must provide policies to allow a person with a service animal access to the goods and services offered by the entity
• Implemented and enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
• DOJ publishes a guide for businesses addressing practices regarding service animals, available at http://www.ada.gov/business.htm#Anchor-AD-11481.
• Cannot charge handler fees or surcharges to have service dog accompany them in public places.
• Public accommodation may ask an individual with a disability to remove a service animal from the premises if:
• The animal is not housebroken.
• The animal's presence or behavior fundamentally alters the nature of the gods or services that the public entity provides.
• The animal is out of control and the animal's handler does not take effective action to control it.
• The animal poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others that cannot be eliminated by reasonable modifications.
• Cannot require documentation that the animal has been certified or licensed as a service animal and the animal need not wear any special collar, harness, vest, emblem, or other means of identifying as such.

What Does the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 Say about Service and Emotional Support Animals?

Three Classes of Animals

1. Pets are animals living with owners for purposes of love, affection, and company.
2. Emotional Support Animals provide some therapeutic benefit to persons with mental or psychiatric disability, requiring no specific training. The mere presence of this animal mitigates the effects of the emotional or mental disability.
3. Service Animals are any animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a physical, intellectual, or mental disability (i.e., guiding individuals with impaired vision, providing protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.)

Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988

• Refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services when necessary to provide equal opportunity to use and enjoy a residential dwelling is discriminatory (i.e., waiver of a "no pets" rule.
• Landlords must modify said policies, practices, or procedures to permit an individual with a disability to use, own, and live with a service and/or emotional support animal when doing so is necessary to provide a tenant an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the dwelling.
• Persons who wish to obtain and live with an emotional support or service animal may have to present documentation from a physician, psychiatrist, social worker, or other mental health professional that the animal provides support which mitigates at least one identified symptom of the disability.
• Landlords cannot:
• Ask a tenant to pay a deposit, fee, or surcharge in exchange for having a service or emotional support animals, even if they require such a practice from owners who wish to obtain pets in their dwelling.
• Require that an emotional support animal have any specific training.
• Require the service or emotional support animal to wear or carry any special collar, harness, vest, emblem, or other means of identifying as such.
• Inquire about the extent of the disability or ask for detailed medical records for the individual requesting the service or emotional support animal.
• A person with a disability may, however, be charged for damages caused to the premises by their emotional support or service animal.

Can Employers Require Medical Exams?

Courtesy Successful Interviewing Guide by Iowa Workforce Development

Medical Examinations
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) it is unlawful for the employer to require an applicant to take a medical examination before making a job offer. After a job offer is made and prior to the commencement of employment duties, an applicant may be required to take a medical examination if everyone who will be working in the job category must also take the examination. The job offer may be made conditional on the results of the medical examination. However, if an individual is not hired because a medical examination reveals the existence of a disability, the employer must be able to show that the reasons for exclusion are job-related and necessary for the conduct of business. Also, the employer must be able to show that there was no reasonable accommodation that would have made it possible for the individual to perform the essential job functions.

While a person is employed, an employer cannot require that an employee undergo a medication examination or inquiry unless it is job-related and consistent with business necessity. The employer's evidence of job-related problems should be objective. When an employee is injured on or off the job, becomes ill, or otherwise disabled, a medical examination may be necessary to determine if the person can continue to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation. The examination may also be necessary to determine the need for or extent of reasonable accommodation.

Employers may conduct periodic examinations and other medical screening and monitoring required by federal, state, or local laws. Employers may also conduct voluntary medication examinations and screening as part of an employee health and wellness program.

Information obtained from an employee medical examination or inquiry may not be used to discriminate against the employee. All information obtained from employee medical examinations and inquiries must be maintained in secured files separate from personnel files, and must be used in accordance with ADA confidentiality requirements.

What Types of Reasonable Accommodations Need to Be Made During the Hiring Process

From Successful Interviewing Guide by Iowa Workforce Development

Reasonable and Necessary Accommodations During the Hiring Process
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that reasonable accommodations be made for applicants with disabilities during every step of the hiring process. The ADA requires that people whose disabilities impair sensory, speaking or manual skills be given tests in a format that does not require use of the impaired skills, unless the test is designed to measure that skill. Some examples of accommodation include:

• Substituting a written test for an oral test (or written instructions for oral instructions) for people with disabilities that impair speaking or hearing
• Giving a test in large print, in Braille, by a reader, or on a computer for people with visual or other reading disabilities
• Providing the services of a sign language interpreter during the interview or testing procedures for applicants with impaired hearing

State Government Agencies of Interest

• Iowa Civil Rights Commission: http://www.state.ia.us/government/crc
• Iowa Department of the Blind: http://www.blind.state.ia.us/
• Iowa Department of Human Rights (Deaf Services and Persons with Disabilities: http://www.humanrights.iowa.gov/
• Iowa Department of Human Services: http://www.dhs.iowa.gov/
• Iowa Department of Public Health: http://www.idph.state.ia.us/ 
• Iowa Development Disabilities Council: http://idaction.com/
• Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services: http://www.ivrs.iowa.gov/ 
• Iowa Workforce Development: http://www.iowaworkforce.org/ 

What Questions Can Employers Ask Applicants with Disabilities?

Valid Types of Questions During the Interview Process

• Whether an applicant can perform the duties of the job, with or without accommodation
• If the applicant has the necessary ability and experience related to the specific duties and essential functions of the job
• If the applicant has the necessary licenses, diplomas, training certificates, or other required qualifications
• Ask the applicant to describe or demonstrate how he/she/zhe will perform the specific functions, if this is required of everyone, regardless of disability
• If the applicant can meet the requirements of the employer's work hours, overtime work, travel, and attendance policies
• Ask a previous employer about job functions and tasks performed by the applicant, the quality and quantity of the work performed, the applicant's attendance record, and other job-related questions that are not likely to disclose disability

Unlawful Types of Questions to Ask Applicants

• Do you have a disability or major illness?
• What is the nature or severity of your disability or any conditions/diseases for which you have been treated?
• Have you ever been hospitalize4d?
• Have you ever been treated for a mental illness?
• Questions about an applicant's past record of a disability, the applicant's record of drug/alcohol addiction or the nature of related treatment
• Have you ever filed a worker's compensation claim or suffered a disabling injury in a previous job?
• Will you need time off for medical treatments or for other reasons associated with your disability?

What Does the Law Say About Hiring People with Disabilities?

From Successful Interview Guide by Iowa Workforce Development

Employers have a legitimate concern in hiring employees who are physically and mentally able to do their jobs. Many persons have been screened out of employment because of real or perceived physical or mental conditions which may not be related to their ability to perform the work.

Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it is specifically unlawful to ask whether an applicant is disabled, or to inquire about the nature or severity of an illness or disability. The Iowa Civil Rights Act's prohibition on disability discrimination follows the federal ADA. These laws prohibit disability-related questions on application forms, during job interviews, or in background or reference checks. Employers may ask an applicant questions about the person's ability to perform the essential functions of the job. Employers may also ask an applicant to describe or demonstrate how, with or without reasonable accommodation, that the applicant can perform job-related functions.

An applicant or employee must be qualified for the job, that is, he or she must satisfy the job requirements for educational background, employment experience, skills, licenses, or other job-related qualification standards. The ADA and the Iowa Civil Rights Act do not interfere with the employer's right to hire the best qualified applicant. Nor do these laws impose any affirmative action obligations. The law simply prohibits the employer from discriminating against a qualified applicant or employee because of a disability.

Under the ADA, a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. The ADA also protects individuals who have a record of such impairment, or who are regarded as having such impairment. The ADA makes it unlawful to discriminate against a qualified applicant or employee because of the disability of an individual with whom the applicant or employee is known to have a family, business, social or other relationship or association.

An employer may not use a physical or mental condition to disqualify an applicant merely because the employer believes the applicants condition would pose a health or safety threat. The employer must show that the condition poses a "significant risk of substantial harm." An assessment of the condition must be based on valid medical evidence.

What Types of Reasonable Accommodations in Terms of Parking are Available for People with Disabilities?

State and Federal Fair Housing Laws Dealing with Parking for People with Disabilities
When a resident with a disability that limits or restricts his or her mobility complaints to his or her property manager about the lack of suitable parking or requests suitable spaces, the resident is requesting a reasonable accommodation. Under State and Federal Fair Housing laws, the property manager is obligated to make the accommodation to their policies or services:

• By designating additional spaces beyond the minimum required by State parking law, if reasonable and necessary to afford the resident an equal opportunity to use and enjoy his or her dwelling unit.
• By assisting with the enforcement of the designated parking spaces in order that the residents with disabilities have use of those spaces.
• Making other modifications to its (parking) policies and procedures if reasonable and necessary to afford the resident an equal opportunity to use and enjoy his or her dwelling unit.

To ensure that a housing complex is meeting both the requirements of the law and the needs of its residents, the property manager can request information about parking needs, including the need for a 'persons with disabilities' parking space at the time that the lease is entered. In this manner, the property manager will have current, accurate information with which to designate spaces for its residents and guests. In the interim, property managers may choose to use a survey in which they ask each resident to report the number of persons in their household, as well as the number of their visitors, who require designated parking as the basis for setting the number needed.

Remember, the State law that mandates parking for persons with disabilities sets a minimum number, not a maximum number.

How Many Parking Spots Must Property Managers Provide for People with Disabilities?

Lack of parking for persons with disabilities
For a person with a disability that limits or restricts their mobility, lack of sufficient parking can be a significant barrier to the full use and enjoyment of their dwelling. Lack of sufficient parking for people with disabilities at a housing complex can also be a violation of State parking law, as well as State and Federal Fair Housing Laws. A resident with a disability who has a DOT parking permit who cannot find an available 'persons with disabilities parking psace' or other suitable parking is effectively denied housing based on disability.

State parking law
State law mandates designated public parking for persons with disabilities. The law sets forth location, dimension, and designation requirements, as well as the dimension of access aisles along side the parking spaces. The law applies to off-street parking provided by public accommodations, such as retail stores and government agencies, as well as multi-family housing, such as apartments or condominiums.

• For property managers who provide ten or more resident parking spaces, they must designate at a minimum one parking space for persons with disabilities, as needed, for each dwelling unit housing a persons with a disability.
• Each of those designated spaces must meet the law's location, dimension, and designation requirements.
• If the property manager provides separate parking for visitors, then the manager must meet the number requirement for 'off-street parking facilities.' That number requirement is based on the number of total spaces offered. (Example: A property manager that offers 10-25 spaces for visitors must designate one of those spaces for persons with disabilities.)
• Where parking for residents and visitors is combined, the property manager should combine the number required for residents with disabilities with the number required for visitors to arrive at the minimum number required by State parking law.

Service Animals in Housing and Public Places

Are There Guidelines about Service Animals in Housing and Public Places in Iowa?

Federal, state, and some local laws require that housing providers and places normally open to the public must allow trained service animals to accompany people with disabilities onto the premise. This includes businesses, agencies, government offices, health clinics, and covered dwellings.

A service animal is any animal that has been trained to perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability. Under the law, a service animal is not considered a pet. Dogs are the most common service animals, but other species (miniature horses, monkeys, birds, cats, etc.) also can be service animals. Service animals can perform many types of tasks for someone with a disability.

Guide dogs are used by people who are blind or visually impaired. Other service animals are trained to alert a deaf person to sounds, to alert an individual with seizure disorder to an oncoming seizure, to carry and pick up things for someone who uses a wheelchair, or to help with balance, with example.

There are no legal requirements for service animals to be specifically identified. Some (but not all) service animals wear special vests and harnesses. Some (but not all) are licensed or "certified" and/or have identification papers.

"No pets" policies do not apply to service animals. You must make an exception for them.

Responsibilities:

• Businesses cannot require a person with a disability to show proof of a disability or certification of a service animal's status. They may ask a person with an animal if it is a service animals required because of a disability, if they are not certain that an animal is a service animal. Housing providers may request verification if the disability or need for the service animals is not obvious or otherwise known.
• Businesses and housing providers cannot restrict the areas where a service animal may go. A service animal must be allowed to accompany a person with a disability everywhere that people may normally go, unless the animal's presence creates a basic change to your business operation or threat to safety.
• Businesses and housing providers cannot restrict access to service animals because of health regulations. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) takes priority over local and state laws or regulations. The only exception is a hospital operation room; however, patient rooms are not restricted.
• Businesses may exclude a service animal from the premises when its behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others. Businesses do not have to accommodate a service animal when doing so would result in a fundamental alteration to the nature of the business.