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1 correction found
nothing the business can do if a pet owner lies, even blatantly.
The ADA does not leave businesses with 'nothing' they can do. DOJ guidance and the Title III regulations expressly allow businesses to ask the two Q7 questions and to exclude or remove animals in several situations.
Full reasoning
This sentence overstates what the ADA requires.
It is true that Q7 limits staff to two questions when it is not obvious a dog is a service animal. But the ADA does not leave a business with "nothing" it can do after that. The Department of Justice's own guidance says businesses may exclude a dog that is out of control, not housebroken, or whose presence would fundamentally alter the service or violate legitimate safety requirements. The binding Title III regulation likewise allows a public accommodation to require removal of a service animal if the animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action, or if the animal is not housebroken.
The DOJ guidance also makes clear that emotional support, therapy, comfort, or companion animals are not service animals under the ADA. So if the person's answers show the dog is only for comfort/emotional support, the business does have something it can do: it can deny treatment as an ADA service animal.
So while the ADA limits how far a business may probe, it is inaccurate to say there is "nothing" a business can do. The law and DOJ guidance expressly preserve several ways businesses may police their spaces.
3 sources
- Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA | ADA.gov
Q3: 'Emotional support, therapy, comfort, or companion animals' do not qualify as service animals under the ADA. Q25 says service animals may be excluded if admitting them would fundamentally alter the service or if a particular service animal is out of control or not housebroken. Q28 adds that if a service animal is out of control and the handler does not take effective action, staff may request that the animal be removed from the premises.
- ADA Requirements: Service Animals | ADA.gov
Under 'Inquiries, Exclusions, Charges, and Other Specific Rules Related to Service Animals,' DOJ says staff may ask two questions, and that 'A person with a disability cannot be asked to remove his service animal from the premises unless: (1) the dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it or (2) the dog is not housebroken.'
- Americans with Disabilities Act Title III Regulations | ADA.gov
28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c)(2) provides that a public accommodation may ask an individual with a disability to remove a service animal if '(i) The animal is out of control and the animal’s handler does not take effective action to control it; or (ii) The animal is not housebroken.' Section 36.302(c)(6) also permits the two service-animal inquiries.