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We'll also examine the difference between service dogs and emotional support animals (ESAs) under federal and Idaho law, and how housing laws expand the rights of those with disabilities regarding service animals.
In Idaho, people with disabilities can be accompanied by their assistance dogs on:
The ADA lists many more locations that are public accommodations, such as gyms, parks, libraries, and educational institutions. (42 U.S.C §12181(7).) But religious organizations, such as churches, synagogues, and mosques, aren't considered public accommodations under the ADA. Nor are private clubs—member-controlled nonprofit groups that are highly selective and charge substantial membership fees but weren't created to avoid compliance with civil rights laws.
Religious organizations don't have to comply with the ADA's service dog rules even if they offer secular services, such as a daycare center that admits children regardless of whether they're members of or affiliated with the religious institution. Private clubs are also exempt—except those facilities the club makes available to nonmembers. (28 C.F. R. § 36.102(e).)
Under Idaho's public accommodations law, you're entitled to bring your service dog with you to any public accommodation. Idaho law defines a service dog the same as the ADA, as a dog that's individually trained to do work or perform tasks for someone with a disability, whether the disability is:
Other species of animals, whether wild or domestic, trained or untrained, aren't service animals under Idaho law. (Idaho Code § 56-701A(5).)
Under the ADA, a service animal is a dog trained to perform tasks or do work for a person with any type of physical or mental disability. In some cases, a miniature horse can also qualify as a service animal under the ADA.
Examples of service animals that must be allowed into public accommodations under Idaho law and the ADA include:
Neither the ADA nor Idaho's human rights law covers emotional support animals whose presence alone provides a sense of safety, companionship, and comfort to those with psychiatric or emotional conditions.
Although emotional support animals often have therapeutic benefits, they aren't treated as service animals under state law or the ADA because they're not individually trained to perform specific tasks for their handlers. There are some federal protections for ESAs in housing(see below), but they don't have the same access rights as service animals in public places.
Pets are also not covered by either state or federal law.
The ADA doesn't allow staff at public accommodations to ask you questions about your disability or demand you show certification, identification, or other proof of your service dog's training or status. If it's not apparent what your service animal does, the establishment can ask you only whether it is a service animal, and what tasks it performs for you.
The ADA and Idaho law prohibit public accommodations from charging a special admission fee or requiring you to pay any other extra cost to have your service animal with you. However, you can be asked to pay for any damage your animal causes.
The ADA and Idaho law allow a public accommodation to exclude your service animal if it poses a direct threat to health and safety. For example, the facility can kick the dog out if your dog is aggressively barking and snapping at other customers. Your animal can also be excluded if it's not housebroken or it's out of control and you're unable or unwilling to control it.
Both the ADA and Idaho law prohibit falsely claiming your dog is a service animal to bring it into public accommodations. And in Idaho, using a service dog to falsely claim disability benefits or treatment is a misdemeanor. (Idaho Code § 18-5811A.)
Idaho's Human Rights Act prohibits property owners from discriminating against people who seek to rent or purchase their property based on disability (among other things). The Act also requires property owners to make reasonable modifications to the property, if necessary, to allow someone with a disability to use and enjoy the property fully. However, this law doesn't specifically address service animals.
Under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) people with disabilities must be allowed full and equal access to all housing facilities. The FHA specifically prohibits discrimination in housing accommodations against people with disabilities who use assistance animals.
Under the Fair Housing Act, housing facilities must allow service dogs and emotional support animals as reasonable accommodations, if necessary, for a person with a disability to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the home. To fall under this provision, you must have a disability and a disability-related need for the animal. In other words, to qualify for this protection, your animal must:
To determine if federal housing law protections apply to your assistance animal, your landlord can consider two things:
If you meet both these requirements, your service or emotional support animal automatically falls under FHA protections.
The FHA prohibits landlords from charging you extra for having an assistance animal, including pet deposits. But you can be required to pay for damage your animal causes. If your lease or rental agreement includes a "no pets" provision, it doesn't apply to your service animal.
The FHA allows housing providers to ask for documentation of your disability and your need for the assistance animal, but only if your disability or your need for the assistance animal isn't apparent. For instance, a blind person can't be asked to show documentation of disability or the need for a guide dog. But a landlord could ask a blind person to document the need for an emotional support cat.
Federal housing laws allow your assistance animal to be excluded if it poses a threat to the health and safety of other people or property, and you can't reduce the threat using another reasonable accommodation. But the landlord should base the exclusion on evidence of your animal's actual conduct, not its size or breed.
Get more information about the rules for service dogs and emotional support animals in housing from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).