What Is the Difference Between a Service Animal and an Emotional Support Animal?
Pursuant to California law, an employee may be entitled to bring a service animal or an emotional support animal to work as a reasonable accommodation for the employee’s disability. A service animal is a dog trained to perform certain tasks, such as guiding a blind person or helping him or her retrieve objects. An emotional support animal is a domestic animal whose presence helps a person with disabilities manage anxiety and prevent maladaptive responses to the environment.
Not all emotional support animals are dogs; they can be any domestic animal, but most of them are species commonly kept as pets, such as dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, rats, gerbils, and any of various bird species. A law passed in 2020 enabled people with disabilities to keep “unique animals” as emotional support animals if there was a justifiable reason for this. A unique animal is one that is legal to domesticate but not commonly kept as a pet. For example, if you need the animal to retrieve items for you but you are allergic to dogs, you can request another species capable of helping you in similar ways, such as a monkey.
Emotional Support Animals and Reasonable Accommodations for Employees With Disabilities
The laws about emotional support animals in the workplace are similar to the laws about any other accommodation for a disability. Your employer cannot discriminate against you for making the accommodation and must negotiate with you to find a mutually agreeable solution.
Speak With a Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer
A Los Angeles employment discrimination and retaliation lawyer can help you secure disability accommodations at work, including bringing an emotional support animal. Contact Litigation, P.C. in Redondo Beach, California to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.
Source:
employers.org/blog/2022/06/23/default/pets-in-the-workplace/