Legislation and Other Legal Issues Relevant in Choosing to Partner with a Service Dog in the Workplace

Details

• Personal Author:
  Foreman AM ; Glenn MK ; Meade BJ ; Shahan KM ; Thorne KL ; Wirth, Oliver
• Description:
  Objective. Decisions to use a service dog for employment impacts more than just the workplace. It extends into housing, transportation, and public access. Findings from an exploratory study of the use of service dogs in the workplace revealed a need for clarification and dissemination of relevant laws and resulting regulations associated with living and working with a service dog (Glenn, 2013). This investigation sought to respond with a review of legislation and case law that may impact a person's ability to live and work independently with a service dog. Method. A search of the regulations and case law in the United States related to the use of a service dog in various environments was conducted, focusing on examples of legal precedents that have arisen at the federal, state and local levels. Results. Federal law and resulting regulations, as well as local and state case law, were presented for Disability Support and Accommodation: service animal definitions, use of service animals in different environments to include housing, public access, transportation, and employment, rights to privacy, and responsibility to maintain control of the dog. Conclusions. Two themes needing attention emerged: (1) discrepant interpretations of service animal in the law and by the general population and (2) among service dog handlers and allies there exists a lack of accurate information and ability to inform others of their rights, the laws and associated requirements related to service dog teams. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Environment Occupational Health Safety Transportation Workplace
• Keywords:
  Animal Handlers Disabled Workers Environmental Factors Information Dissemination Information Processing Law Enforcement Legislation Policy Regulations Services Sociological Factors Work-life Balance Work Environment

  More +
• ISSN:
  0022-4154
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division ; OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  17-26
• Volume:
  83
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050164
• Citation:
  J Rehabil 2017 Apr-Jun; 83(2):17-26
• Contact Point Address:
  Margaret Glenn, Ed.D, CRC, Associate Professor, West Virginia University College of Education and Human Services, Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling and Counseling Psychology, Morgantown, WV 26506
• Email:
  margaret.glenn@mail.wvu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Rehabilitation
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:def82406a51f22254869cbbbfcc859062c8fb292cd22c41956d6d24578edd54442b235ab21ab8d41e5e430972b02e162ff6e3b0e2fc884c125c7c2f790307c9a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/210637/cdc_210637_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 303.32 KB ]