Procedure 6.4.2 - Animals on Campus - Employees

Part 1: Purpose

Lake Superior College (LSC) is committed to providing its employees equal access to programs, services, and physical facilities. It is acknowledged that some employees may require an accommodation to bring service animals or Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) on campus to do their job effectively.

Part 2: Employers & Employees Rights

Under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, LSC is required to provide a reasonable accommodation that does not cause an undue hardship. However, LSC may not be required to provide the exact accommodation that the employee prefers.

Subpart A: Employees do not have an automatic right to have service animals or ESAs on campus. 

  1. The first step in the interactive process, employees must request a reasonable accommodation and engage in the ADA interactive accommodations process with the employer before bringing a service animal or ESA on campus.
  2. To request a reasonable accommodation, the employee must complete the Employee/Applicant Request for Americans with Disabilities Act Reasonable Accommodation Form. Employees may refer to LSC Procedure 1B.4.1, Part 8, Subpart B for guidance to request reasonable accommodation.
  3. Even if the employee can show that the animal would be an effective accommodation for the individual’s disability, the employer can deny a request if the animal would cause a significant disruption in the workplace.

Subpart B: Employers can request/require documentation.

  1. When assessing an employee’s reasonable accommodation request to bring a service animal or ESA to work, the employer may collect the exact same information it collects when determining whether to grant any other type of accommodation request. This includes documentation establishing the employee has a disability, if the disability and or need for an accommodation is not obvious, and information showing the disability necessitates a reasonable accommodation.
  2. The employer may insist that some of this information come from a reliable healthcare or rehabilitation professional to understand why the service animal or ESA is needed, and what it does for the employee.
  3. The employer has the right to require that the service animal or ESA is trained to be in a workplace and capable of functioning appropriately in the work environment. In many cases, a healthcare provider won’t be involved in the acquisition or training of the service animal or ESA, and therefore cannot provide documentation on the behavior of the animal. When this is the case, documentation about the service animal or ESA may need to come from another source, such as the person who trained the animal to confirm the animal is well-behaved and trained to be in the workplace.
  4. An employee who trains his or her own service animal or ESA can be asked to document or demonstrate that the animal is appropriately trained and will not disrupt the workplace.
  5. The goal of the employer is to understand why the service animal or ESA is needed and what it does for the person.

Subpart C: Employers may choose alternative effective options if the employer isn’t sure whether having a service animal or ESA will pose an undue hardship.

Under the ADA, employers may choose among alternative effective accommodation options besides bringing the service animal or ESA to work.

The employer may allow the employee to bring the animal to work for a trial period to evaluate whether or not other accommodations might be fully effective.

Part 3: Service and Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) on Campus

Subpart A: Service animals and ESAs that have met the reasonable accommodation documentation and information requirements must comply with the below;

  1. Vaccinations

The animal must have current immunizations against diseases, including rabies, distemper, and parvovirus, or the appropriate vaccination series for the type of animal. Dogs must wear a rabies tag.

  1. Cleanup

The employee or handler is responsible for the care and cleaning up animal waste, making sure the animal is not disruptive, keeping it clean, and free of parasites and preventable diseases unless the handler is physically not able to perform the cleanup. If an individual with a disability is not able to clean up after a service animal, arrangements should be made with the employer during the ADA interactive process before signing a formal agreement.

  1. Off Limits Areas on Campus

It is the employee or handler’s responsibility to understand the places where the animal is not allowed, and where the animal may stay if they must go into those places.

  1. Attending to the Animals’ Needs

It is the employee or handler’s responsibility to understand the service animal’s or ESAs needs and discuss those during the ADA interactive process.  The employee or handler is responsible for knowing where the animal may and may not relieve itself, where to properly dispose of animal waste, what education co-workers may need about the animal’s presence, and how to attend to the animal’s needs during their breaks.

Related Documents

History

Date created: June 2024

Date implemented: September 19, 2024

President's Signature Date: September 19, 2024

President's Signature