[Note: The Alaska Supreme Court has held that an employer’s failure to reasonably accommodate an employee’s disability can be considered disability discrimination under the fair employment practices law (Moody-Herrera v. State, Dep’t of Natural Resources, 967 P.2d 79 (Alaska 1998)).]
In Alaska, if a qualified employee with a disability seeks to use a service animal to perform the essential functions of his or her job, the employer must treat such a request as a request for reasonable accommodation and engage in an interactive process to determine if the accommodation is reasonable.
Alaska Admin. Code tit. 6, § 30.610
Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers, including state and local governments, with 15 or more employees, are prohibited from discriminating against people with disabilities. Title I protects qualified individuals with disabilities in several areas, including job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation and job training. It is also unlawful to retaliate against someone for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on disability, or for filing an ADA discrimination charge. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) shares enforcement authority for Title I of the ADA with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which has primary responsibility for enforcing the employment provisions of the law. (Note: Federal employees and job applicants are covered by Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 instead of the ADA.
Specific provisions for the state of Alaska.
[Note: The Alaska Supreme Court has held that an employer’s failure to reasonably accommodate an employee’s disability can be considered disability discrimination under the fair employment practices law (Moody-Herrera v. State, Dep’t of Natural Resources, 967 P.2d 79 (Alaska 1998)).]
In Alaska, if a qualified employee with a disability seeks to use a service animal to perform the essential functions of his or her job, the employer must treat such a request as a request for reasonable accommodation and engage in an interactive process to determine if the accommodation is reasonable.
Alaska Admin. Code tit. 6, § 30.610
Under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers, including state and local governments, with 15 or more employees, are prohibited from discriminating against people with disabilities. Title I protects qualified individuals with disabilities in several areas, including job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation and job training. It is also unlawful to retaliate against someone for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on disability, or for filing an ADA discrimination charge. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) shares enforcement authority for Title I of the ADA with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which has primary responsibility for enforcing the employment provisions of the law. (Note: Federal employees and job applicants are covered by Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 instead of the ADA.
