Restaurants,Hotels, and Service Dogs
Restaurants,Hotels, and Service Dogs - Are You Risking Liability? Is Your Staff Trained About the ADA?
Avoid Liability By Providing Training To Your Staff
Many restaurants and hotels have policies in place that prohibit guests from bringing pets, but what happens when a guest seeks to bring a dog with them and asserts that it is a service dog? Is your staff trained what to do? Are they trained to know what they can lawfully ask, and what they cannot? Are they trained about whether they can lawfully ask for documentation about the certification of the dog? Does your restaurant or hotel have a written policy that complies with the ADA?
ADA Expertise Consulting, LLC can help. We provide training and technical assistance, and help hotels develop and implement a lawful service dog policy. Founded by former Justice Department attorney Marc Dubin, we serve to help restaurants and hotels avoid costly litigation and federal civil rights investigations. After our training, your staff will understand what they can and cannot ask, and be far more welcoming to guests with disabilities.
When a potential guest with a disability seeks to make a reservation, or enters your restaurant and tells your staff that they want their service dog to accompany them, your staff needs to get the answer right. Failing to do so injures your relationship with potential guests, injures your business' reputation, and creates potential legal liability. If the Justice Department investigates, and finds a violation of the ADA, the Department could impose a civil penalty of up to $75,000 for the first offense, and up to $150,000 for each subsequent offense. Private litigation could also be very costly.
Marc Dubin, the founder and President of ADA Expertise Consulting, LLC, is an expert in the ADA, having spent over a decade enforcing the law nationwide on behalf of the Cicil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice. He is a widely sought-after speaker and trainer. We can provide your business with the information you need.
Contact us to arrange trainings of your staff and assistance in development of a lawful service dog policy. We also offer on-call guidance when needed, so that your staff can have Marc address concerns, by phone, as they arise.