Is That a Horse in Your Cube?

“I have an employee who wants to bring his miniature horse to work because it’s a support animal for him. What am I supposed to do in this situation?”

Your HR Survival Tip

Call an employment law attorney! While dogs may have been the standard service/assistive animal for years, even a miniature horse can be trained as a service animal. The reason this is a delicate legal issue is because, in addition to the known American Disabilities Act (ADA), there are several agencies and other laws that all have slightly different rules about service animals and those qualifying as assistive animals.

Service animals are specifically trained to provide a service for their owner, such as guide dogs. Assistive and support animals do not need to be trained and are often considered a reasonable accommodation. All a support animal must do is provide emotional, cognitive, or other support to a person with a disability.

While you may have to take your employee’s word his horse is a service animal, you have the ability to ask more questions about assistive animals. You are allowed to ask for documentation from your employee’s health care provider stating the animal is necessary for your employee’s ability to perform the essential functions of the job. You can also request confirmation that the animal:

1. will be free from offensive odors and will display habits appropriate to the work environment, including the elimination of urine and feces; and
2. will not engage in behavior that endangers the health or safety of the individual with a disability or others in the workplace.

The definition of disabilities has changed over the past few years and resulted in many more people being eligible for accommodations. Don’t assume your employee doesn’t have a disability or that their horse isn’t an assistive or service animal. You need to treat this as seriously as you would treat any other disability accommodation request… regardless of the type of animal.

The ADA authorizes fines of up to $55,000 for a first violation, plus whatever fines are possible from other laws you might violate if you handle this badly. Don’t horse around… get advice from an employment law attorney.