Over the years, public places have become more open to pets and have even advertised themselves as being “pet friendly.” With remote work, many employees have grown accustomed to working with their furry friends by their side. There is even a National Take Your Pet to Work Day. What happens when a nonprofit employee seeks to bring their pet to work as accommodation for a disability? This article explains the process for how nonprofit employers should respond to requests from employees to bring a pet to the workplace as an accommodation for a disability.
Fair Employment and Housing Act and The Americans with Disabilities Act
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) applies to employers with five or more employees, including nonprofit organizations. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal law that applies to all employers in the United States. Under FEHA and the ADA, an employer is required to provide reasonable accommodations for known physical and mental disabilities of a qualified applicant or employee to allow the employee to perform the essential functions of their job. The only exception is if the accommodation would create an undue hardship for the operation of the nonprofit organization’s business. If a nonprofit organization knows or should have known of an employee or applicant’s disability, it has an obligation to identify and implement a reasonable accommodation.
The Interactive Process and Evaluating Requests to Bring an Animal as an Accommodation
The interactive process is the collaborative method through which the nonprofit organization and employee determine and identify whether a reasonable accommodation would allow the employee with a physical or mental disability to successfully complete their essential job duties. Requests to bring a pet to work as an accommodation for a disability are evaluated the same way as any other accommodation request.
The interactive process begins after the employee requests an accommodation or the employer is on notice and inquires about an accommodation. In the case of a request to bring an animal to the workplace as an accommodation for a disability, nonprofit employers may request information demonstrating the relationship between the employee’s disability and how the animal will allow the employee to perform their essential job duties. The employee is not required to disclose their disability, nor may the employer request a diagnosis.
A reasonable accommodation will be unique to each scenario and job duty. A reasonable accommodation does not need to be the “best” accommodation or even the accommodation the employee wants the most; rather the question is whether the accommodation will be effective and not impose an undue hardship.
The Difference Between a Pet as an Accommodation and a Service Animal
Pursuant to FEHA regulations, an “assistive animal” is defined as an animal that is necessary as a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability. Under FEHA, “assistive animals” include, but are not limited to, guide dogs (to assist a visually impaired person), signal dogs (to assist a hearing-impaired person), service dogs (trained to assist a person with a disability), and support dogs. A “support animal” is an animal that provides emotional, cognitive, or other similar support to a person with a disability. Support animals are also known as comfort or emotional support animals.
Under the ADA, a “service animal” is any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the purpose of the ADA. The only exception is miniature horses.
Minimum Standards for Animals in the Workplace
Any animal that meets FEHA’s definition can be an “assistive animal.” Nonprofit employers cannot set breed, size, or weight limitations on assistance animals. The employee’s animal does not need to be licensed or certified by a governmental entity. However, the nonprofit employer can set minimum standards for the animal. These standards include that the animal be free from offensive odors and display habits that are appropriate to the work environment. The nonprofit employer may also require that the animal does not engage in behavior that endangers the health and safety of the individual with a disability or others. Similarly, the ADA emphasizes that the handler must have control over the service animals. The service animal shall have a harness, leash, or other tether unless the handler is unable to use and is able to have control over the animal by other means.
Denying a Request for an Animal in the Workplace
To be compliant with FEHA and the ADA, nonprofit employers need to make a good faith effort to implement the accommodation. Nonprofit employers cannot deny an accommodation based on speculation. For example, wondering whether other employees may have allergies or fear of the animal are not sufficient grounds to deem an accommodation unreasonable. If an employee’s animal is not complying with the employer’s minimum standards for animals in the workplace, the employer should speak to the employee about the concerns and give the employee – and animal – an opportunity to come into compliance.
A nonprofit employer may deny a request to bring an animal as an accommodation when the employer determines it is not a reasonable accommodation to allow the employee to perform their essential job duties, or the employer determines allowing the animal in the workplace will be an undue hardship. An undue hardship exists where an action requires significant difficulty or expense in implementing a disputed accommodation, and is a high standard to meet.
Finding an accommodation that works for everyone may take some time and nonprofit employers may feel nervous when an employee’s requests to bring an animal into the workplace as an accommodation. By going through the interactive process and having minimum standards for assistive animals, nonprofit employers can feel confident it will identify a reasonable accommodation to allow employees to perform their essential job duties, keep the workplace clean and safe, an allow the nonprofit to focus on “purrfecting” its do-good mission.