Between a Dog and a Hard Place: Service Animals and the Legal Complexities of the Hospitality Industry

At the intersection of public accommodation and employment, the hospitality industry is a dynamic and multifaceted space spanning hotels, restaurants, movie theatres, event venues, and more. When employees and guests request to bring an animal on site, many businesses are unfamiliar with the nuances of such requests and the differing (and sometimes conflicting) issues arising from them. Understanding legal compliance is essential to managing risk in a complex legal landscape shaped by myriad federal, state, and local laws and regulations. 

Paw & Order: ADA Compliance in Hospitality 

The Americans with Disabilities Act is the cornerstone of animal accommodation regulation at the federal level. ADA Titles I (employment), II (public services), and III (public accommodations) have different regulations and standards impacting animal accommodation requests. Title III gives customers and guests the right to bring service animals to hotels, restaurants, theaters, and other public-facing spaces, though nuances in the law may limit or eliminate access in certain situations. Title I, which requires reasonable accommodation of employees with disabilities, is generally understood to require employers to treat an employee’s request to bring an assistance animal to work as an accommodation request. Though less commonly invoked in the hospitality industry, Title II applies to state and local government, therefore giving special regulations to venues like municipal convention centers, other municipal event spaces, public parks and recreation facilities, and more. 

Hey, You Can’t Bring Your Dog in Here! Title III: Guests and Their Service Animals

Under ADA Title III, public accommodations, including hospitality businesses, must generally allow service animals in areas open to the public like dining areas, guest rooms, event spaces, and other sites. A service animal under Title III is defined as a dog (a miniature horse may be permitted under a different regulation¹) trained to perform tasks for individuals with disabilities. Though emotional support animals are not covered under this definition and may be excluded by a business under federal law, state and local law in some jurisdictions may require a business to permit an animal required for emotional support. Many states also mandate that public accommodations grant access to animals in training to be a service animal, even though the ADA does not mandate access for animals in training. 

Under the ADA, public accommodations may ask two questions about a guest’s animal:

1. Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

Public accommodations cannot ask for medical documentation or certification that the animal is a “service animal,” require the animal to demonstrate its task, or inquire about the guest’s disability. Allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons to exclude an animal. Exclusion is generally permitted if the animal is not housebroken, out of control and the animal’s handler does not take effective means to control the animal, or if the animal’s presence would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, programs, or activities provided to the public. Fundamental alteration is a high bar that cannot be invoked in many circumstances. And if an animal is excluded, its handler must be given the opportunity to secure the public accommodation’s goods and services without the animal present.

Work Like a Dog or Bring Your Dog? Title I: Employees and Reasonable Accommodation

Hospitality businesses are not only public accommodations—they are also employers. Title I of the ADA requires employers to accommodate employees with disabilities, which may include allowing animals to accompany employees to work. It does not, however, explicitly define or even mention “service animals.” Meaning, animals other than dogs may be a reasonable accommodation, and emotional support animals may be a reasonable accommodation if warranted. The lack of guidance in Title I necessitates a robust interactive process in response to each employee’s assistance animal accommodation request. And, when faced with an employee accommodation request for an assistance animal, employers are not restricted in the same manner as with guests seeking to bring a service animal under ADA Title III. The employer’s right to obtain information relevant to the request is the same as with all other employment accommodations under ADA Title I.

While the ADA requires reasonable accommodation, health and safety regulations may limit what’s feasible, especially in environments like commercial kitchens or food prep areas. You cannot assume the health code forbids animals outright, but in tight or high-risk environments, animals may pose contamination or safety hazards.

Fur-midable Challenges in State Law: Varying Definitions and Protections

As if federal disability laws were not complex enough, many states and municipalities also have laws about animals in public spaces/the workplace that add extra layers to businesses’ legal and compliance obligations. Service animal interference laws exist in 46 states, criminalizing harassment or harm to service animals. Penalties range from misdemeanors to fines up to $10,000, and jail time in California. Fraudulent representation laws exist in over half the states, penalizing individuals who falsely claim pets as service animals. Some states recognize miniature horses in all cases or other animals—cats, birds, and monkeys—as service animals, expanding well beyond the ADA’s definition. Many states use different terms for animals that assist individuals with disabilities. These terms include assistive animals, animal assistants, support dogs, guide dogs, signal dogs, etc. Some states even have laws and regulations that modify the interactive process for an employee’s animal accommodation request and make it an unlawful employment practice to prevent an employee from bringing an animal to work. And as noted above, many states also require public accommodations to permit animals in training on site. Inquiries to guests with animals may be more limited than what’s permitted under the ADA, too. Navigating both federal and state-law requirements demands careful legal analysis and tailored compliance strategies.

The Leash You Can Do: Etiquette and Recommended Practices

Compliance efforts include training employees on etiquette and recommended practices, including:

• The questions that may be asked of guests and customers who enter a public accommodation with an animal.
• Not petting, interacting with, or distracting service animals.
• When, why, and how to exclude a service animal.
• Avoiding assumptions about an individual’s disability or disability status.
• Not charging fees for service animals unless the animal causes damage. 

For employee disability accommodations, employers must engage in the interactive process to evaluate an employee’s request without generalizing about the individual or their disability or making assumptions about how their animal might behave. Each situation is unique, and operational considerations and work environments will vary, requiring thoughtful evaluation and informed legal support. State laws may provide more expansive employee rights, which can impact how hospitality employers approach animal accommodation requests.

Animals in public accommodations and the workplace present nuanced, ever-evolving, and deeply important issues, so consultation with counsel (and developing a systematic manner for evaluating requests and placing appropriate guardrails if an employee accommodation is granted) is recommended.²