Attorney General's News Release

July 26, 1996

Nixon, U.S. Dept. of Justice issue advisory on service animals and compliance with disabilities law

Jefferson City, Mo. — Service animals such as “seeing eye dogs” are not pets, and private business that are public accommodations cannot discriminate against them or their owners with disabilities.

That's the message being sent in a joint state-federal advisory issued today by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon and the U.S. Department of Justice on the sixth anniversary of enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA was signed into law July 26, 1990, by then-President George Bush, extending vast civil rights protections to more than 40 million Americans with physical and mental disabilities.

Nixon joined with Deval Patrick of the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ in releasing the joint advisory that provides basic information about the Act and answers a number of specific questions about the legal requirements regarding individuals with disabilities who use service animals. The document was prepared jointly by the federal and state law enforcement offices to provide businesses with information about the law and to encourage voluntary compliance by businesses, such as restaurants, hotels and retail stores.

“When Americans with disabilities use service animals to assist them in their daily lives, we must work to ensure that their owners have the rights they deserve and retain their ability to access places of public accommodation,” Nixon said.

A service animal is any guide dog, signal dog or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. “Seeing eye dogs” are one type of service animal. Other service animals assist persons with other kinds of disabilities in their day-to-day activities.

Examples include alerting persons with hearing impairments to sounds; pulling wheelchairs or carrying and picking up things for person with mobility impairments; or assisting persons with mobility impairments with balance.

“We are pleased to work with Attorney General Nixon to educate citizens about the ADA,” Patrick said. “This is the first of many cooperative efforts to ensure the rights of people with disabilities.”

Under the ADA, privately owned businesses that serve the public (such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores, taxicabs, theaters, concert halls and sports facilities) are prohibited from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires these businesses to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto business premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed.

“As in other areas of law, my office has sought to prevent violations of the law first, before punishing violators,” Nixon said. “To that end, we hope that this advisory will go a long way toward educating the business community about service animals and the related rights of their owners.”

The service animal advisory provides a great deal of information about the ADA law and how it relates to service animals. It spells out in detail what an establishment owner must allow under the law; businesses' responsibilities under the laws; examples of certain violations of the ADA and state laws; and answers to a series of other questions on the subject.

The advisory also provides the U.S. Department of Justice's toll-free ADA Information Line (800-514-0301, TDD 800-514-0383) for businesses with further questions about service animals or other requirements of the ADA. Missouri residents may also contact Nancy Leonard, ADA coordinator for the Attorney General's Office, at 573-751-3321 for specific questions regarding Missouri law.

DOJ's new ADA home page on the Internet also will include a full copy of the service animal advisory.

In addition to Nixon, more than 20 other Attorneys General also are participating in the project announced today. The advisory was developed by a federal-state task force set up between the National Association of Attorneys General, DOJ and the U.S. Attorneys on affirmative civil rights enforcement.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818