A Perspective on Reasonable Accommodation
A story about the reasonable accommodation for a dog was brought to my attention by the New Jersey Employment Law Blog.
The employer accommodated the disabled employee with the service dog, but did not accommodate the dog with non-skip strips on the floor. A court disagreed with the employer. NJELB rightly points out that this is new: an accommodation for an accommodation.
But here’s my perspective: was the dog serving the role of the “canary in the coal mine”? Apart from any accommodation, was it in the employer’s own self interest to eliminate the condition that was probably also unsafe for humans?
The case is from Montana, far from our usual coverage area. But employers everywhere should be cautious about overlooking their own self-interests and look for the win-win.
Image: Suzi Q, a certified service dog, working in snow in Finland - - also far from our usual coverage area, but it’s a nice photo. Courtesy Wikimedia
