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Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
Speaks on guide animal rights
The
Pennsylvania Attorney General office notes that violating guide animal
rights is a crime under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and
Pennsylvania Crimes code. This supplements existing Federal Law
and could lead to the arrest and criminal conviction of
violators.
The
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General has enforcement
Responsibilities under laws that protect the rights of individuals
with disabilities. This document provides specific information about
the requirements for protecting the legal rights of our fellow
citizens with disabilities who use service animals.
This
document was prepared jointly with the U.S. Department of Justice to
provide businesses with information about the law and to encourage
Voluntary compliance. I hope you will share this information with your
membership and/or staff and encourage them to learn about their
responsibilities.
Mike
Fisher
Attorney
General
Q: What are the laws that apply to my business?
A: Under
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), privately owned businesses
that serve the public, such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores,
taxicabs, theaters, concert halls, and sports facilities, are
prohibited from discriminating against individuals with disabilities.
The ADA requires
these
Businesses to allow people with disabilities to bring their service
animals onto business premises in whatever areas customers are
generally allowed.
Under
Pennsylvania law, individuals with disabilities who use guide or
support animals or trainers of such animals are entitled to equal
opportunity in all aspects of employment, as well as equal access to
and treatment in all public accommodations, and any housing
accommodation or commercial
property
without discrimination. Violation of this law may result in an award
of damages or other remedies pursuant to the Pennsylvania Human
Relations Act. 43 P.S. § 953.
Additionally, under Pennsylvania law, an owner, manager, or employee
of a theater, hotel, restaurant or other place of public accommodation
may Violate the Pennsylvania Crimes Code if he or she denies access to
an individual with a disability who is using a guide, signal, or
service dog. 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 7325.
Q: What is a service animal?
A: The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or
other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an
individual with a disability.
If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals
under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or
certified by a state or local government.
Service animals perform some of the functions and tasks that the
Individual with a disability cannot perform for him or herself.
"Seeing eye dogs" are one type of service animal, used by some
individuals who are blind. This is the type of service animal with
which most people are familiar. But there are service animals that
assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day
activities. Some examples include:
·
Alerting
persons with hearing impairments to sounds.
·
Pulling
wheelchairs or carrying and picking up things for persons with
mobility impairments.
·
Assisting
persons with mobility impairments with balance.
·
A service
animal is not a pet.
Q: What must I do when an individual with a service animal comes to my
business?
A: The service animal must be permitted to accompany the individual
with a
disability to all areas of the facility where customers are normally
allowed to go. An individual with a service animal may not be
segregated from other customers.
Q: I
have always had a clearly posted "no pets" policy at my
establishment. Do I still have to allow service animals in?
A: Yes. A service animal is not a pet. The ADA requires you to modify
your "no pets" policy to allow the use of a service animal by a person
with a disability. This not mean you must abandon your "no pets"
policy altogether but simply that you must make an exception to your
general rule for service animals.
Under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, you also will need to make
an exception for trainers of service animals.
Q: How can I tell if an animal is really a service animal and not just
a pet?
A: Some,
but not all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some,
but not all, are licensed or certified and have identification
papers.
If you are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask
the person who has the animal if it is a service animal required
because of a disability.
However,
an individual who is going to a restaurant or theater is not
likely
to be carrying documentation of his or her medical condition or
disability. Therefore, such documentation generally may not be
required as a condition for providing service to an individual
accompanied by a service animal. Although a number of states have
programs to certify service animals, you may not insist on proof of
state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany
the person with a disability.
Q: Am I
responsible for the animal while the person with a disability is
in my business?
A: No.
The care or supervision of a service animal is solely the
responsibility of his or her owner. You are not required to provide
care
or food
or a special location for the animal.
Q: Can I
charge maintenance or cleaning fee for customers who bring
service
animals into my business?
A: No. Neither a deposit nor a surcharge may be imposed on an
individual with a disability as a condition to allowing a service
animal to accompany the individual with a disability, even if deposits
are routinely required for pets.
However, a public accommodation may charge its customers with
disabilities if a service animal causes damage so long as it is the
regular practice of the entity to charge non-disabled customers for
the same types of damages. For example, a hotel can charge a guest
with a disability for the cost of repairing or cleaning furniture
damaged by a service animal if it is the hotel's policy to charge when
non-disabled guests cause such damage
Q: I
operate a private taxicab and I don't want animals in my taxi; they
smell, shed hair and sometimes have "accidents." Am I violating the
ADA if
I refuse
to pick up someone with a service animal?
A: Yes.
Taxicab companies may not refuse to provide services to
individuals with disabilities. Private taxicab companies are also
prohibited from charging higher fares or fees for transporting
individuals with disabilities and their service animals than they
charge to other persons for the same or equivalent service.
In
addition, under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, these
prohibitions against discriminatory treatment would also apply to
protect the trainers of service animals.
Q: What if a service animal barks or growls at other people, or
otherwise acts out of control?
A: You
may exclude any animal, including a service animal, from your facility
when that animal's behavior poses a direct threat to the health
or
safety of others. For example, any service animal that displays
vicious behavior towards other guests or customers may be excluded.
You may not make assumptions, however, about how a particular animal
is likely to behave based on your past experience with other animals.
Each situation must be considered individually.
Although a public accommodation may exclude any service animal that is
out of control, it should give the individual with a disability who
uses the service animal the option of continuing to enjoy its goods
and services without having the service animal on the premises.
Q: Can I exclude an animal that doesn't really seem dangerous but is
disruptive to my business?
A: There
may be a few circumstances when a public accommodation is not required
to accommodate a service animal - that is, when doing so would result
in a fundamental alteration to the nature of the business. Generally,
such disruption is not likely to occur in restaurants, hotels, retail
stores, theaters, concert halls, and sports facilities. But when it
does, for example, when
a dog
barks during a movie, the animal can be excluded.
Q: My county health department has told me that only a seeing eye or
guide dog has to be admitted. If I follow those regulations, am I
violating the ADA?
A: Yes,
if you refuse to admit any other type of service animal on the
basis of
local health department regulations or other state or local laws. The
ADA provides greater protection for individuals with disabilities and
so it takes priority over the local or state laws or regulations.
If you
have further questions about service animals or other requirements
of the
ADA, you
may call the U.S. Department of Justice's toll-free ADA Information
Line at 800-514-0301 (voice) or 800-514-0383 (TDD). In addition, you
may call the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General at (717) 787-0822
or the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission at (717) 787-4410.
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