Rhodes College is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities in accordance with applicable law. Service animals are addressed under the Animals on Campus Policy which applies to students, faculty, staff, and visitors and establishes the definitions, access requirements, owner responsibilities, and standards applicable to service animals on campus.
An employee who wishes to bring a service animal to work as a reasonable accommodation should contact Human Resources in advance of bringing the animal to campus. Human Resources will review the request and engage in an interactive process with the employee to determine whether allowing the service animal is a reasonable and effective accommodation.
Employees are not required to provide certification, licensing, or other documentation establishing that an animal is a service animal. Human Resources may ask whether the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform, unless the need for the service animal and the task it performs are readily apparent. Consistent with applicable law, when the disability or need for the accommodation is not obvious, Human Resources may request reasonable documentation sufficient to establish the existence of a disability and the need for the requested accommodation. Medical information provided in connection with an accommodation request will be maintained confidentially and separately from the employee’s personnel record.
Approval to bring a service animal to work is based on an individualized assessment of the employee’s request, the requirements of the employee’s position and workplace, and the applicable reasonable-accommodation standards. Approval may be subject to reasonable conditions necessary to address legitimate workplace, health, safety, or operational concerns.
Once approved, the service animal must comply with the requirements established in the Animals on Campus Policy, including requirements concerning control of the animal, cleanliness and housebreaking, and conduct. Rhodes may remove or restrict access for a service animal when permitted by applicable law, including when the animal is not under the handler’s control, is not housebroken, or poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated or reduced through reasonable measures. Such determinations will be based on an individualized assessment and objective evidence rather than assumptions or generalizations about the animal.
Pets and emotional support animals are not permitted in the workplace unless otherwise approved as a reasonable accommodation under applicable law. Requests for an accommodation involving an emotional support animal should be directed to Human Resources and will be evaluated through the College’s reasonable-accommodation process.
Questions or requests concerning service animals or other workplace accommodations should be directed to the Office of Human Resources.