Public Accommodations: Service Animals

Regulations
Case Law
Articles

Regulations:

28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c) - Service animals

(1) General - Generally, a public accommodation shall modify policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability.

(2) Care or supervision of service animals - Nothing in this part requires a public accommodation to supervise or care for a service animal.

28 C.F.R. § 36.104 - Definitions

...Service animal means any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items.

Case Law:

Lentini v. California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 370 F.3d 837 (9th Cir. 2004).

Modification of concert hall's policies to allow a patron with a disability to attend performances with service animal that might have made disruptive noises at past performances, if such behavior would have been acceptable if engaged in by humans, was a necessary and reasonable modification under ADA. The modification was a well-reasoned and carefully-crafted balance between patron's needs and concert hall's interests by generally allowing access for service animals, but they could be excluded under certain circumstances. A comparison of disruptiveness was not difficult. If not for the modification, patron would have been excluded from performances.

Articles:

Department of Justice Technical Assistance Letters:

Service Animals in Housing - Even though service animals are not specifically mentioned in the Fair Housing Act and its regulations, it is likely that the Act would at times require that service animals be allowed in a housing facility in order to afford a disabled individual fair use and enjoyment of the facility.
Hospitals - "A showing by appropriate medical personnel that the presence or use of a service animal would pose a significant health risk in certain areas of a hospital may serve as a basis for excluding service animals in those areas. In developing a list of areas from which service animals may be excluded, a hospital facility must designate only the exact areas where exclusion is appropriate. "
Requirement of Licensing of Service Animals - "The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not require States to establish licensing or certification programs for service animals"

ADA Business BRIEF: Service Animals (DOJ) 2007. This document explains the provisions under the ADA that apply to service animals who assist persons with disabilities.

Legal E-Bulletin: My Experience with Assistance Animals Led Me to the Dog and Pony Show