Yes. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) makes it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities, including people who have service animals. The ADA’s rules about service animals are different in different situations.

Title I = Workplace.

Title II = State/local government programs, like a library or public hospital.

Title III = Places of public accommodation, which are private businesses open to the public, like a restaurant or private hospital.

Titles II and III: The rules for service animals under Titles II and III are clear. You can bring your service animal anywhere the public can go, with very few exceptions. You do not need to ask the government or business before you go. You do not need to share documentation about your disability or your need for a service animal.

Title I: The rules for service animals at work are more complicated. Your employer does not have to automatically let you to bring your service animal to work. You need to ask your employer if you can bring it to work as a reasonable accommodation. Your employer will then consider your request as it would for any reasonable accommodation. Like other reasonable accommodations, you may need to give reasonable documentation about your disability and need for your service animal.

A reasonable accommodation is any change to your job or your workplace so that you can:

• Apply for a job.
• Do the essential parts of your job.
• Enjoy equal benefits and rights of employment.

This depends on several things, including:

• Why do you need to bring your service animal to work?
• Are there parts of your job that would make it hard to have an animal with you?
• Will your service animal completely change the nature of your work?
• Will your service animal make something very hard or expensive for your employer?

You should ask in writing and say: “I am requesting a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.” Use Sample Letter #1 below this FAQ and keep a copy of your written request. Read Equip for Equality’s “Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation” for more ideas.

Your employer should start the interactive process to talk about your request. Be ready to:

• Answer your employer’s questions about why you need your service animal at work.
• Say how your service animal is individually trained to perform a particular task.
• Provide reasonable documentation about your disability and the need to bring your service animal to work.
• Provide reasonable documentation about your service animal, including vaccination information.

This is another area where the rules change depending on where you want to go.

Title I: There is no clear definition of service animal. Because there is no set definition, it may be a reasonable accommodation to bring an animal that provides emotional support.

It also may be a reasonable accommodation to bring an animal other than a dog. Before a decision is made, you and your employer must engage in the interactive process.

Titles II and III: The definition of service animal is clear. It is a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform a task for a person with a disability. Animals that provide emotional support are not considered service animals under Title II and Title III.

Your employer does not have to give you the exact accommodation you ask for. Your employer only has to give you an “effective accommodation.”

Example: You ask to work from home because your medication makes you tired in the morning and you cannot get to work on time. Your employer has the right, under the ADA, to say no to working from home but offer to let you come in later and stay later.

This idea doesn’t always make sense when it comes to service animals, as there may not be another accommodation that will work for you. If your employer offers you a different accommodation, consider telling them (if true):

• Why the different option is not effective for you.
• The medical or personal help your service animal gives you.
• The negative effects to your service animal’s training if you are apart all day.

Your coworker’s allergies may be a disability covered by the ADA, depending on how serious they are. The best way to respond is to try to think creatively to come up with an idea that will work for both of you. Tell your employer in writing that you would like to talk about ways to make sure that both you and your coworker’s needs are met.

Possible ideas:

• Make certain areas of your workspace and ways to get there “dog free.”
• If you and your coworker need to go to meetings together, take turns attending by webinar or telephone.
• Have your employer buy an air purifier for your coworker.

Before saying no without good reason, take the time to read it to see if the terms are reasonable. Just like with any other issue about accommodations, go through the interactive process and try to work with your employer to change terms of the agreement that you do not like.

Many people who have service animals don’t need their service animal to help them complete any specific job task.

Example: An employee with epilepsy can do her job without her service animal, but her animal may keep her calm or alert her if a seizure is about to happen.

Under the ADA, reasonable accommodations are required to provide employees with equal access to the benefits and privileges of their employment. Despite this, many employers focus only on how the accommodation helps employees do the essential parts of their jobs.

In this situation, you should say in writing that you are asking for an accommodation so you “can have equal access to the benefits and privileges of your employment.” Sample Letter #2 down below has sample language.

For more information about your rights under Title I, see the Job Accommodation Network’s document, Service Animals as Workplace Accommodations.

For more information about your rights under Titles II and III, see the U.S. Department of Justice’s document, Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA.