[Federal Register: September 15, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 178)][Rules and Regulations] [Page 56236-56358]
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
28 CFR Part 36
[CRT Docket No. 106; AG Order No. 3181-2010]
RIN 1190-AA44
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public
Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities
AGENCY: Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: This final rule revises the Department of Justice (Department) regulation that implements title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act [[Page 56237]] (ADA), relating to nondiscrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodations and in commercial facilities. The Department is issuing this final rule in order to adopt enforceable accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) that are consistent with the minimum guidelines and requirements issued by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, and to update or amend certain provisions of the title III regulation so that they comport with the Department's legal and practical experiences in enforcing the ADA since 1991. Concurrently with the publication of the final rule for title III, the Department is publishing a final rule amending its ADA title II regulation, which covers nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in State and local government services.
Effective Date: March 15, 2011.
Federal Register, Volume 75 Issue 178 (Wednesday, September 15, 2010)
Public accommodations that are subject to the ADA as well as other
Federal disability discrimination laws
[[Page 56240]]
must be aware of the requirements of all applicable laws and must
comply with these laws and their implementing regulations. Although in
many cases similar provisions of different statutes are interpreted to
impose similar requirements, there are circumstances in which similar
provisions are applied differently because of the nature of the covered
entity or activity, or because of distinctions between the statutes.
For example, emotional support animals that do not qualify as service
animals under the Department's title III regulations may nevertheless
qualify as permitted reasonable accommodations for persons with
disabilities under the FHAct and the ACAA. See, e.g., Overlook Mutual
Homes, Inc. v. Spencer, 666 F. Supp. 2d 850 (S.D. Ohio 2009). Public
accommodations that operate housing facilities must ensure that they
apply the reasonable accommodation requirements of the FHAct in
determining whether to allow a particular animal needed by a person
with a disability into housing and may not use the ADA definition as a
justification for reducing their FHAct obligations. In addition,
nothing in the ADA prevents a public accommodation subject to one
statute from modifying its policies and providing greater access in
order to assist individuals with disabilities in achieving access to
entities subject to other Federal statutes. For example, a quick
service restaurant at an airport is, as a public accommodation, subject
to the title III requirements, not to the ACAA requirements.
Conversely, an air carrier that flies in and out of the same airport is
required to comply with the ACAA, but is not covered by title III of
the ADA. If a particular animal is a service animal for purposes of the
ACAA and is thus allowed on an airplane, but is not a service animal
for purposes of the ADA, nothing in the ADA prohibits an airport
restaurant from allowing a ticketed passenger with a disability who is
traveling with a service animal that meets the ACAA's definition of a
service animal to bring that animal into the facility even though under
the ADA's definition of service animal the animal lawfully could be
excluded.
* * * * *
Service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do
work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a
disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual,
or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or
domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the
purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service
animal must be directly related to the handler's disability. Examples
of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting individuals
who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks,
alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of
people or sounds, providing non-violent protection or rescue work,
pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure,
alerting individuals to the presence of allergens, retrieving items
such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and
assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility
disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological
disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive
behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence and the
provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship
do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.
* * * * *
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
28 CFR Part 36
[CRT Docket No. 106; AG Order No. 3181-2010]
RIN 1190-AA44
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public
Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities
AGENCY: Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: This final rule revises the Department of Justice (Department) regulation that implements title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act [[Page 56237]] (ADA), relating to nondiscrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodations and in commercial facilities. The Department is issuing this final rule in order to adopt enforceable accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) that are consistent with the minimum guidelines and requirements issued by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, and to update or amend certain provisions of the title III regulation so that they comport with the Department's legal and practical experiences in enforcing the ADA since 1991. Concurrently with the publication of the final rule for title III, the Department is publishing a final rule amending its ADA title II regulation, which covers nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in State and local government services.
Effective Date: March 15, 2011.
Federal Register, Volume 75 Issue 178 (Wednesday, September 15, 2010)
Public accommodations that are subject to the ADA as well as other
Federal disability discrimination laws
[[Page 56240]]
must be aware of the requirements of all applicable laws and must
comply with these laws and their implementing regulations. Although in
many cases similar provisions of different statutes are interpreted to
impose similar requirements, there are circumstances in which similar
provisions are applied differently because of the nature of the covered
entity or activity, or because of distinctions between the statutes.
For example, emotional support animals that do not qualify as service
animals under the Department's title III regulations may nevertheless
qualify as permitted reasonable accommodations for persons with
disabilities under the FHAct and the ACAA. See, e.g., Overlook Mutual
Homes, Inc. v. Spencer, 666 F. Supp. 2d 850 (S.D. Ohio 2009). Public
accommodations that operate housing facilities must ensure that they
apply the reasonable accommodation requirements of the FHAct in
determining whether to allow a particular animal needed by a person
with a disability into housing and may not use the ADA definition as a
justification for reducing their FHAct obligations. In addition,
nothing in the ADA prevents a public accommodation subject to one
statute from modifying its policies and providing greater access in
order to assist individuals with disabilities in achieving access to
entities subject to other Federal statutes. For example, a quick
service restaurant at an airport is, as a public accommodation, subject
to the title III requirements, not to the ACAA requirements.
Conversely, an air carrier that flies in and out of the same airport is
required to comply with the ACAA, but is not covered by title III of
the ADA. If a particular animal is a service animal for purposes of the
ACAA and is thus allowed on an airplane, but is not a service animal
for purposes of the ADA, nothing in the ADA prohibits an airport
restaurant from allowing a ticketed passenger with a disability who is
traveling with a service animal that meets the ACAA's definition of a
service animal to bring that animal into the facility even though under
the ADA's definition of service animal the animal lawfully could be
excluded.
* * * * *
Service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do
work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a
disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual,
or other mental disability. Other species of animals, whether wild or
domestic, trained or untrained, are not service animals for the
purposes of this definition. The work or tasks performed by a service
animal must be directly related to the handler's disability. Examples
of work or tasks include, but are not limited to, assisting individuals
who are blind or have low vision with navigation and other tasks,
alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to the presence of
people or sounds, providing non-violent protection or rescue work,
pulling a wheelchair, assisting an individual during a seizure,
alerting individuals to the presence of allergens, retrieving items
such as medicine or the telephone, providing physical support and
assistance with balance and stability to individuals with mobility
disabilities, and helping persons with psychiatric and neurological
disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive
behaviors. The crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence and the
provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship
do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition.
* * * * *