Hotel/Motel
A guest with a disability who uses a service animal must be provided the same opportunity to reserve any available room at the hotel as other guests without disabilities. They may not be restricted to “pet-friendly” rooms.
Hotels are not permitted to charge guests for cleaning the hair or dander shed by a service animal. However, if a guest’s service animal causes damages to a guest room, a hotel is permitted to charge the same fee for damages as charged to other guests.
Service animal handlers may not leave their service animal in the hotel room when they leave. They service animal must be under the handler’s control at all times.
Restaurants
Establishments that sell or prepare food must allow service animals in public areas even if state or local health codes prohibit animals on the premises.
Service animals must be allowed to accompany their handlers to and through self-service food lines. Similarly, service animals may not be prohibited from communal food preparation areas, such as are commonly found in shelters or dormitories.
Seating, food, and drink are provided for customer use only. The ADA gives a person with a disability the right to be accompanied by his or her service animal, but covered entities are not required to allow an animal to sit or be fed at the table.
Hospitals
Service animals must be allowed in patient rooms and anywhere else in the hospital the public and patients are allowed to go. They cannot be excluded on the grounds that staff can provide the same services.
If the patient is not able to care for the service animal, the patient can make arrangements for a family member or friend to come to the hospital to provide these services, as it is always preferable that the service animal and its handler not be separated, or to keep the dog during the hospitalization. If the patient is unable to care for the dog and is unable to arrange for someone else to care for the dog, the hospital may place the dog in a boarding facility until the patient is released, or make other appropriate arrangements. However, the hospital must give the patient the opportunity to make arrangements for the dog’s care before taking such steps.
Please do note, that service animals must also be permitted to ride in an ambulance with its handler. However, if the space in the ambulance is crowded and the dog’s presence would interfere with the emergency medical staff’s ability to treat the patient, staff should make other arrangements to have the dog transported to the hospital.
Grocery Store
Generally, the dog must stay on the floor, or the person must carry the dog. For example, if a person with diabetes has a glucose alert dog, he may carry the dog in a chest pack so it can be close to his face to allow the dog to smell his breath to alert him of a change in glucose levels.
Rideshare (Uber/Lyft)
A rider with a disability who uses a service animal must be provided the same opportunity to ride any vehicle as other riders without disabilities. They may not be restricted to “pet-friendly” vehicles.
Drivers are not permitted to charge riders for cleaning the hair or dander shed by a service animal. However, if a rider’s service animal causes damages to a vehicle, the driver is permitted to charge the same fee for damages as charged to other guests.
Bus/Train
Service dogs are welcomed to accompany their handler on buses and trained. The service dog must be under the control of the handler at all time. The service dog should be on a leash, harness, or tether, unless this interferes with the service dogs ability to perform its task(s).
Service dogs must sit under the passenger’s seat or at their feet. A service dog is not allowed to sit in the aisle, on seats, or on beds.
If the train schedule permits, service dogs may be walked at station stops provided that they stay within reasonable proximity to the train and re-board promptly when the conductor notifies that the train is about to depart. It is always recommended to notify the conductor when first boarding the train. Some routes may have limited or no stops for the duration of the trip, so it is encouraged to check schedules before making travel plans.
Bus and train employees are not responsible for the care or supervision of any passenger’s service dog.
Classrooms
Service dogs are permitted to accompany minor, disabled handlers in the classroom. Schools may neither treat children with disabilities differently nor deny the service dog access on school grounds.
This rule is regardless of whether the student has a human aide to assist them while on campus.
Workplace
An employee who wants to be accompanied by their service dog at their place of work is considered a “reasonable accommodation”, under Title I of the ADA, which deals with employment.
If an employee wishes to be accompanied by their service dog in the workplace, a request must be made to their employer (typically the HR department) as a request of “reasonable accommodation” under Title I of the ADA, which deals with employment.
Once the request is received by the employer, it is then at the discretion of the employer to take this request seriously. The employer is required to do their due diligence in order to accommodate the employees request.
The employer may request additional information about the task(s) the service dog has been trained to perform, the service dogs temperament (and how that would have an affect in a place of business), to ensure it does not present undue hardship.
For example, it is not the responsibility of the employer to take care of the service dog at the workplace. As the service dog handler, it is their responsibility to make sure the dog is being monitored, it always under control, including being given bathroom breaks and food throughout the day, as necessary.
It is always the handlers responsibility to make sure they clean up after the dog. In the event the employees service animal causes damage in the workplace, the burden falls on the handler to (charged fees).
It is never the employers responsibility at any time to take care of the service dog.
Churches, Temples, Synagogues, Mosques, or Other Places of Worship
Religious institutions and organizations are specifically exempt from the ADA. However, there may be State laws that apply to religious organizations.
