Hi April,

I think you have seen some good suggestions already, so I just want to  
throw in just a minor addition:

During your research you found next to nothing concerning service  
animals in the museum as a workplace. You were right to ask your  
peers, because the policies you are looking for are likely to be  
internal documents, nothing you put on your website as a museum. You  
wouldn't put your art handling procedures and disaster plan there, so  
why the policy about service animals behind the scenes? It seems that  
no one on this list has one and this is a good indicator that few  
institutions have one. Maybe that's a little nudge from the universe  
to explore the topic further and write something about it, make a  
thesis out of it? Maybe something that explores the possibilities how  
to integrate a service animal in a collections work environment?  
Researching the possibilities already mentioned, accomodate reglations  
from helathcare and food processing industries, find new solutions for  
securing collections spaces and labs,... This could help professionals  
who are in the same situation as you are as well as institutions who  
are confronted with the issue and don't know how to deal with it.

Further, if you discover during your research that you like sinking  
your teeth into this kind of complicated issue with a lot of grey  
areas you might well be collections manager and registrar material!  
It's easy to think that there is a law and you follow it with a policy  
and that's that. If the laws were always 100% clear we wouldn't see  
lawsuits all over the place. In real life you are often confronted  
with conflicting laws and ethics, like this one where you have to find  
a path between the protection of your collection and making the  
necessary accommodations for your employee who needs his/her service  
animal. You have it with loan agreements between the laws of different  
states, with copyright, with donor requests,... If you like to be  
creative to find possibilities and ideas to make the conflicting  
requirements match, working in collections management might be a good  
career path. If you find it stressful, look out for other areas of  
collections work.

Best of luck!
Angela

Angela Kipp
Collection Manager
TECHNOSEUM, Mannheim, Germany
www.technoseum.de

Join the Registrar Trek at http://world.museumsprojekte.de/
Follow us on Twitter @RegistrarTrek


The views expressed are my own. My museum can't be held responsible  
for anything I write.




Quoting "Legatt, April Mary" <[log in to unmask]>:

> Thank you all for your suggestions.  I wasn't trying to be unclear  
> in my post, it has been a stressful week.  My service dog is trained  
> in two primary tasks so far, pressure therapy for when a panic  
> attack hits and alerting to
>  or anxious behaviors.  She is a corgi, so she is relatively small  
> but she works perfect for my lifestyle and disability.
>   I am a student; however, part of my degree includes working for  
> the museum 20 hours a week.  Hence I am technically a student and  
> right now my accommodations are coming through the school rather an  
> employer.  Because of this, I didn't really want to give specifics  
> that would put my school or employer in a specific light (good or  
> bad) as they have never really dealt with this issue before.  I'm  
> was hoping to get more information so that I can find a job where  
> the employer won't view me and my dog as a problem if there are was  
> to successfully accommodate the situation.
>
>   Thanks again for all your suggestions
>     April legatt
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Mar 25, 2017, at 9:50 PM, Janice Majewski  
> <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>
> Hi April,
>
> You've got a complicated problem, and it's great that you've been  
> doing research to find a solution that serves both you as a museum  
> professional who uses a service animal and your museum's  
> conservation labs and collections storage areas. Have you talked  
> with anyone at the Job Accommodations Network (JAN) about your  
> specific concerns?  http://askjan.org/media/servanim.html  They are  
> a federally funded organization that provides confidential  
> consultation on accommodation rights and ideas for individuals with  
> disabilities.  They likely won't know about the specifics of museum  
> conservation and storage, but if you bring those specifics to them,  
> they may be able to help you brainstorm solutions. For example, in  
> the publication at the address above, there is discussion of use of  
> animal dander care products and HEPA filters. Possibly you could use  
> a dog crate in the space to keep your dog nearby but minimize its  
> release of hair and dander.  While the concerns of the  
> lab/collections storage area are important and very real, it's also  
> essential for your employer to acknowledge that your need for a  
> service animal is very real and that the measure of your service  
> animal's impact in the lab is accurate and not overstated.  You'll  
> need assess that balance carefully, and JAN may be able to help out.
>
> I don't think there is any information in print specifically about  
> service animals in museum employment situations.  I did find one  
> small piece on EEOC's website about service animals and food care:   
> https://www.eeoc.gov/facts/restaurant_guide.html  There is also  
> information in the JAN piece about allergies of other employees that  
> address issues that may apply indirectly for storage and  
> conservation.  FDA also has rules about service animals in food  
> service that might be useful to you:  
> https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/ucm189214.htm
>
> In response to some of the other Museum-Lers who have responded to  
> your question, I wanted to note that employment is covered under  
> Title I of the ADA and the rules for service animals and emotional  
> support animals as possible types of work-related reasonable  
> accommodation are different than they are for the public using  
> service animals under Titles II and III. Under Title I, an emotional  
> support animal may be considered as a reasonable accommodation;  
> under Titles II and III, emotional support animals are not accorded  
> access as service animals.  EEOC, who is responsible for Title I,  
> has not defined a service animal as only a dog; DOJ, who is  
> responsible for Titles II and III, has defined a service animal as a  
> dog (or sometimes a miniature horse). Most importantly, an employer  
> does not necessarily have to allow a service animal as a reasonable  
> accommodation whereas a public accommodation is required to modify  
> its policies to allow them unless the modification would  
> fundamentally alter the program.
>
> I hope this might help, April.  And a last bit, your employer is  
> equally obligated to work with you to identify reasonable  
> accommodations for you whether your service animal is for a  
> psychiatric, vision, hearing, or mobility disability.  There should  
> not be a hierarchy.
>
> Best of luck!
>
> Jan
>
>
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 25, 2017 at 3:41 PM, Legatt, April Mary  
> <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>  
> wrote:
>
> The ADA and disability laws require accommodation but it does not  
> specify what type of accommodation.  What I am finding is how to  
> work with a dog in storage and conservation areas where the dander  
> may cause problems. I was hoping to go into the conservation route  
> but that seems to be the area of most concern for many employers.  
> (Especially with a psychiatric service dog)
>
>
>    Thanks
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Mar 25, 2017, at 12:47 PM, Legatt, April Mary  
> <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>  
> wrote:
>
>
> The ADA and disability laws require accommodation but it does not  
> specify what type of accommodation.  What I am finding is how to  
> work with a dog in storage and conservation areas where the dander  
> may cause problems. I was hoping to go into the conservation route  
> but that seems to be the area of most concern for many employers.  
> (Especially with a psychiatric service dog)
>
>
>    Thanks
>
> ________________________________
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>
>
> --
>
> Janice Majewski
> Director, Inclusive Cultural and Educational Projects
> Institute for Human Centered Design
> humancentereddesign.org<http://humancentereddesign.org/>
>
> [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> 571-245-4403<tel:571-245-4403> (cell)
>
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