Service-Dog ‘Fakers': Could It Happen at Work?

Jim McDonald was quoted in the Human Resource Executive online article “Service-Dog ‘Fakers’: Could It Happen at Work?”

According to the article, the California State Senate is examining people masquerading their dogs as guide dogs for the disabled so they can bring them along to wherever they’re going.

“This is a big issue in California,” Phyllis Cheng, the executive director of the Fair Employment and Housing department, said in testimony. In fact, here is the entire senate-hearing report:

Although there is no hard-and-fast rule under the Americans with Disabilities Act requiring employers to allow guide dogs to accompany disabled employees. Every employer with 15 or more employees is required to try and make a reasonable accommodation if the request is made, Jim suggested.  That accommodation would cause an undue hardship to the business or present a direct threat to health and safety.

“Thinking realistically, if you consider the fact that employees bringing dogs to work would then have to care for them for the entire day." He explained. "That might mitigate this a little bit."

Read the full article here.