What laws protect ESAs:
The Fair Housing Act
This helps you find housing with your ESA even at locations that don't normally allow pets without having to pay a pet fee.
Renters must first have two questions answered affirmatively: 1). "Does the individual making the ESA request have a diagnosed disability?" 2). "If so, does the individual have a disability-related need for the emotional support animal?" The only document that is required to show to a landlord is your ESA Doctor's Letter. No other documents are necessary.
A housing provider can legitimately refuse your ESA request in any of the following scenarios:
- The property owner can prove that allowing the ESA would subject them to undue financial or administrative stress.
- Your ESA may be rejected if it is too large for the property. One example might be an ESA request for a horse to be accommodated in a small apartment.
- If your ESA has caused damage to the property or presented a threat to another tenant, your landlord can rescind ESA accommodation.
- If the property is owner-occupied and has four or fewer units, an ESA may be denied.
- If the housing is managed by a religious organization or is a members-only club, the FHA regulations do not apply and an ESA can be refused access.
- If the property is for rent or sale by owner only, it does not qualify for FHA protections.
The Air Carrier Access Act
In general, this act allows ESAs to ride with you in the cabin of the plane without issue. However, there are a few things to keep in mind:
"The year 2021 started with major news for ESA owners: as of January 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) no longer requires airlines to accommodate emotional support animals. In the years prior to this rule change, all airlines were required by law to accommodate owners of ESAs with proper documentation from a licensed mental health professional."
Airlines may exclude animals that:
- Are too large or heavy to be accommodated in the cabin.
- Pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others.
- Cause a significant disruption to cabin and service.
- Are prohibited from entering a foreign country.
- Airlines are never required to accept snakes, reptiles, ferrets, rodents, sugar gliders, and spiders.
What kind of documentation can be required of a person travelling with an emotional support animal or psychiatric service animal? Airlines may require documentation that is not older than one year from the date of your scheduled initial flight that states: 1). You have a mental or emotional disability that is recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). 2). You need your emotional support or psychiatric support animal as an accommodation for air travel and/or for activity at your destination. 3). The individual providing the assessment is a licensed mental health professional and the passenger is under his/her professional care. 4). The licensed health care professional’s date and type of professional license and jurisdiction or state in which their license was issued.
Airlines can request specific documentation and/or 48-hours advanced notice for service animals that are emotional support animals and psychiatric service animals.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
There is actually not a lot of concrete laws regarding ESAs and the EEOC. There’s nothing in the ADA or its regulations that addresses emotional support dogs as workplace accommodations. There’s also nothing in written guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces Title I.
Federal public accommodation laws do not require businesses and organizations to accommodate disabled individuals with regard to their requested use of emotional support animals. Some state laws and city ordinances even make it a crime to try to pass off an emotional support animal as a legally-protected, disability-related service animal. While it requires accommodating a true service animal, the ADA expressly excludes emotional support animals from the protections granted in Title III, which regulates public accommodations and their obligations to customers, guests, patients, patrons, clients, etc.
Title I of the ADA—which prohibits disability discrimination in the employment context and affirmatively requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees—is completely silent with regard to service dogs and other animals as examples of appropriate accommodations.
Nevertheless, in an event that discrimination takes place, more often than not the EEOC takes the position that a service animal—and even an emotional support animal—is a reasonable accommodation in the employment context, depending on the circumstances. For example, in 2017 Laferriere’s psychiatrist prescribed an emotional support animal to help him cope with his disabilities and “maintain appropriate social interactions.” but was denied by a trucking company that had a “no pet” policy and revoked his offer of employment. The EEOC sided with Laferriere and is seeking injunctive relief, a change in the employer’s policies, the hiring of Laferriere, back pay and emotional pain and suffering compensation, and even punitive damages. So what should you do as an employer if presented with a request to bring an ESA into the workplace? 1). Look to see if the workplace policies can be modified. The answer typically depends on the employee’s job and the work environment — for instance, there could be some jobs or work environments in which it would be difficult to accommodate someone having a dog with them, regardless of whether it’s a service animal or an emotional support animal. For example, animals might be prohibited in an emergency room (ER) so an ER nurse probably couldn’t have an animal with her while working in the ER. 2). Check to see if the animal is needed due to a diagnosed disorder recognized by the DSM. All ESAs need a letter of prescription from a licensed medical professional. This document you are allowed to see and all other documents are considered fakes. You have no obligation to accommodate a pet that is not a Service or ESA. 3). Talk with the employee about whether the emotional support animal is trained to be in a work environment and will be under the employee’s control at all times. Under the ADA, employers do not have to provide any accommodations that pose an undue hardship. There are 6 public access guidelines typically expected from any animal in a public space. Learn what those are here. 4). Suggest a trial basis and see if it works. Employers who do this often make a written agreement with the employee that there will be a trial period, how long it will last, and what factors might end the trial period early. For example, if the emotional support dog shows any sign of aggression or if the employee cannot keep the animal quiet or under control, the employer will immediately end the trial period and deny the request.
