Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, covered employers are required to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified applicants and employees unless doing so would produce undue hardship to the organization. Keep in mind that there is a difference between a service animal (a dog, or miniature horse, specially trained to assist someone with a physical or mental disability) and an emotional support animal. An emotional support animal does not need to be specially trained and oftentimes is utilized to provide comfort to someone, for example, who has issues with anxiety or depression. People who utilize emotional support animals do not have the same legal rights to access public places as a service animal trained to assist an individual. Employees should ask the employer about bringing a service dog or emotional support animal to work. The employer can ask the employee for medical documentation that verifies their need for this accommodation at work. The Job Accommodation Network offers good information regarding the use of service animals in the workplace when the organization has a no-animal at-work policy. https://askjan.org/topics/servanim.cfm

You can use this OFCCP audit checklist to ensure you're doing what is required to maintain OFCCP's regulations including VEVRAA, Section 503, and EO 11246. Or request a demo to streamline your compliance and recruiting efforts.