Take Your Dog to Work Day - Everyday

Although neither Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act nor the EEOC's regulations on the ADA directly address or define the role of service animals, the EEOC's Interpretive Guidance states, as an example, that permitting an individual who is blind to use a guide dog at work would be a reasonable accommodation. Now employees with depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric conditions are wanting to bring their animals to work with them, assertedly to alleviate their symptoms, as a "reasonable accommodation."

Unfortunately, many employers, fearful of lawsuits, may be willing to allow these animals, which will only make it more difficult when some employer attempts to draw the line by attempting to prove that the presence of these animals at work presents an undue hardship.

This article appeared in the Winter 2006 issue of the Employee Relations Law Journal.