Many individuals — both with and without disabilities — derive emotional support, comfort, and companionship from animals. Assistance animals have proven extremely effective at ameliorating the symptoms of psychiatric disabilities such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Additionally, animals are being trained to provide an expanding variety of tasks for persons with both physical and mental disabilities, including alerting diabetics to low blood sugar and persons with epilepsy to oncoming seizures.
Business owners, airlines, and housing providers, including colleges, have questions about their rights and responsibilities regarding assistance animals. Our panel of experts will provide an overview of the applicable laws: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and the Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA); and discuss recent case law in this area.
Other discussion topics will include:
- The difference between emotional support and service animals
- Reasonable accommodations & FHAA
- Permissible inquires and requests for documentation
- Permissible restrictions/exclusions
- Interplay between federal and state laws and local ordinances
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