A recent court decision confirms the complexity of evaluating employee accommodation requests involving service dogs under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A military veteran who experienced horrific suffering while serving in Iraq and Kosovo asked his employer, the Union Pacific Railroad Company, if he could keep his trained service dog with him during stints as a freight train engineer to help with post-traumatic stress disorder. The railroad denied the request, in part due to concerns about safety and whether having a dog in a locomotive violated federal railroad regulations. The veteran sued under the ADA and obtained a $250,000 jury verdict, but the trial judge vacated the award. The judge's ruling was upheld on appeal.

In denying the award, the appeals court emphasized that the ADA not only requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations so disabled employees can perform the essential functions of their jobs, but also so disabled workers can "enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as are enjoyed by ... similarly situated employees without disabilities." According to the court, this means employers must provide accommodations so disabled workers have equal access to employer-provided benefits like health programs, gyms, or cafeterias; it does not require "freedom from mental or psychological pain." As the court put it. "Providing a service dog at work so that an employee with a disability has the same assistance the service dog provides away from work" -- reduced physical and emotional pain -- "is not a cognizable benefit or privilege of employment" under the ADA.

Although the ruling may appear unsympathetic, it hinges on a technical reading of the ADA and its accompanying regulations. The court hinted that if the veteran had argued his case differently (by focusing on job functions instead of benefits), the outcome might have been in his favor. Indeed, numerous courts have imposed liability on employers for blocking service dog requests in slightly different circumstances. 

All this is a reminder that employers need practical and legal wisdom when considering requests by disabled workers to bring services dogs to work. There is no blanket rule one way or the other.