Important Question About the ADA Law

[Ariel Mauricio]

Jurisdiction

Utah

This is probably a simple question, but are business owners allowed to require paperwork from people with trained service animals? I read on the ADA website that they aren't, but a friend of mine has been told differently by judges when she has taken business owners to court in the past. The judges side with the business owner, telling her she must have paperwork for her dog.

 

[army judge]

This is probably a simple question, but are business owners allowed to require paperwork from people with trained service animals? I read on the ADA website that they aren't, but a friend of mine has been told differently by judges when she has taken business owners to court in the past. The judges side with the business owner, telling her she must have paperwork for her dog.

Service animal and support animal laws vary by state, sometimes by county and municipality.

If you seek an exact answer consult with a licensed attorney nearby.


ADA Requirements: Service Animals




Effective March 15, 2011, only dogs are recognized as service animals under titles II and III of the ADA. A service animal is a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with a disability. .

 

[Tax Counsel]

This is probably a simple question, but are business owners allowed to require paperwork from people with trained service animals? I read on the ADA website that they aren't, but a friend of mine has been told differently by judges when she has taken business owners to court in the past. The judges side with the business owner, telling her she must have paperwork for her dog.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) the business is limited in the extent of the inquiries it is allowed to make regarding service animals. The business cannot require medical documentation to support the need for a service animal. The U.S. Justice Department, which is the agency that enforces the part of the ADA that applies to places of public accommodations, has an ADA service animal fact sheet that explains the rules regarding service animals in plain English. A disabled person with a service animal may wish to print that and highlight the section on what businesses may require to give to managers & employees of businesses who ask for more than what the law says they may ask.

Because the ADA is a federal law, the rules are the same for ADA compliance in every state; there are no differences to how the ADA works from one state to another. Some states have their own laws prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities by places of public accommodations and of course the details of those state laws, and the extent to which they apply to service animals do vary state by state. But the business has to meet at least what the ADA requires of the business. If state law requires more of the business than federal law does then the business has to meet what the more demanding state law requires. The federal ADA requirements are the minimum; a business must at least comply with that law.

I question what your friend says she has been told by judges. Did she sue in federal court for ADA violations? And if so, did she cite to the court decisions and Justice Department regulations that specify what the business is allowed to ask regarding service animals? If she sued in state courts and didn't provide the necessary legal citations to the rules that apply then I could certainly see a state court judge assuming that some kind of documentation is needed since many people seem to think that's a logical thing for a business to be able to ask.

 

[flyingron]

I suspect we're not getting the accurate description from the third-hand explanation.
I would suspect that while the ADA does bar businesses from demanding documentation from service animal owners, that doesn't extend to judicial process when one is seeking damages.

Have your "friend" come here and give the actual details.

 

[Tax Counsel]

I would suspect that while the ADA does bar businesses from demanding documentation from service animal owners, that doesn't extend to judicial process when one is seeking damages.

Quite right. If the business disputes that the animal meets the requirements of a service animal as a defense in court, the disabled plaintiff will need to do more to prove it than what the disabled person must give the business at the time the person is visiting the business.