The Department’s investigations found that Deerfield and Landmark discriminated against veterans with PTSD when they refused to honor reservations for hotel rooms because the veterans were accompanied by their service dogs.
As a matter of first impression, despite the absence of a regulation specifically interpreting the RA’s mandate of “reasonable accommodations,” the RA generally requires that individuals with disabilities be permitted to be accompanied by their service animals, consistent with the mandate of “reasonable modifications” under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Such requested accommodations are per se reasonable.
The Justice Department reached an agreement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with The Pawn Shop and Tax Service, Inc., (The Pawn Shop) in Pensacola, Florida to resolve a complaint under title III of the ADA. The Department’s investigation found that the manager of The Pawn Shop asked a veteran who uses a service dog to leave because the manager mistakenly believed the dog was a pet, not a service dog. Public accommodations must permit Individuals who use service dogs, including veterans with disabilities who use service dogs for disabilities such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, or mobility disabilities, into their establishments.