Just a small peek into what we do here at PTSDSOA... Earlier we received a phone call from a woman who was being denied access to a Rodeway Inn in Tulsa,OK because she had a service dog. The clerk was under several misconceptions: 1) Service dogs do NOT need to be certified, carry papers or wear a vest. 2) Although the ADA was updated in 2010, those changes did not restrict access for service dogs. The biggest change was to limit the term service animal to dogs and miniature horses. 3) State laws may be more specific than federal laws. However, even if state laws define service dogs as those that aid physically disabled people, the federal definition (which includes psychiatric conditions) supersedes the state law. 4) The right to refuse service to anyone does NOT allow you to refuse service based on protected class statuses, which include race, gender and DISABILITY. You can not refuse to provide service to someone because they have an SD. 5) You can not redirect a disabled person to another merchant or vendor who provides pet-friendly service as an alternative to providing service yourself. This woman did everything right. She even showed the desk clerk a copy of the ADA on her phone. He still wouldnt allow her to stay. So she called us. We were able to advocate for her, made the necessary calls to corporate and now she and her pup are tucked in for the afternoon.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 18:54:48 +0000
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