MT: Employer must accommodate service dog of worker with a disability

McDonald v Dept of Environmental Quality, MontSCt, June 17, 2009, is an interesting Supreme Court of Montana case. The use of a specially trained service dog by a state employee who required the dog’s assistance for both a physical and mental disability was a reasonable accommodation, the Montana supreme court ruled. The employee had requested nonskid floor covering on several occasions after her service dog repeatedly suffered injuries when slipping on the tile floor and subsequently had to be retired from service. Although the employer acknowledged that it was required to accommodate the employee, it dragged its heels for 17 months under the apparent belief that it had no legal obligation to accommodate Bess, the service dog. The state high court saw things differently, however, concluding the failure to provide an effective alternative accommodation constituted an adverse employment action.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein