United States of America v. Quiktrip Corporation - Consent Decree

EXHIBIT E QUIKTRIP POLICY REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

QuikTrip is committed to making reasonable modifications in policies, practices, and procedures to permit the use of service animals by persons with disabilities. Service animals play an important role in ensuring the independence of people with disabilities, and it is therefore our policy to welcome into our stores any animal that is individually trained to assist a person with a disability.

What is a Service Animal?

Service animals are individually trained to work or perform tasks for individuals with disabilities. Service animals are not always dogs; other animals may assist people with disabilities. Service animals come in all breeds and sizes, may be trained either by an organization or by an individual with a disability, and need not be certified or licensed. Service animals do not always have a harness, a sign, or a symbol indicating that they are service animals. A service animal is not a pet. Service animals assist people with disabilities in many different ways, such as:

• Guiding people who are blind or have low vision and retrieving dropped objects for them;

• Alerting people who are deaf or hard of hearing to sounds and the presence of others;

• Carrying and picking up items, opening doors, or flipping switches for people with disabilities who have limited use of hands or arms, limited use of their legs, or limited ability to bend or stoop;

• Pulling wheelchairs;

• Alerting people with disabilities to the onset of medical conditions such as seizures, protecting them and cushioning them if they fall, reviving them, and performing other tasks that reduce the risk of disability-related injury;

• Doing work or performing tasks for persons with traumatic brain injury, intellectual disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities, such as reminding a person with depression to take medication or waking him up, alerting a person with anxiety to the onset of panic attacks, orienting people with schizophrenia to reality, and helping people with intellectual or cognitive disabilities to locate misplaced items, find places, or follow daily routines; and

• Providing physical support and assisting people with physical disabilities with stability and balance.

Requirements with Regard to Service Animals:

Most of the time, people with disabilities who use service animals may be easily identified without any need for questioning. If we can tell by looking, it is our policy not to make an individual feel unwelcome by asking questions. If we are unsure whether an animal meets the definition of a service animal, it is our policy to ask the individual only two questions at the point when the individual first seeks entry to the QuikTrip facility:

• Is your animal a service animal required because of a disability?

• What work or tasks has your service animal been trained to perform?

If the individual responds that the animal is required because of a disability and has been trained to perform some work or task, we will welcome the person and service animal into the store. Once an individual with a service animal has answered this question, we will not ask any further questions about his or her service animal. We will not ask an individual questions about his or her disability. We will not ask an individual to show a license, certification, or special ID card as proof of their animal's training. We must permit service animals to accompany individuals with disabilities to all areas of our stores normally used by customers or other members of the public. We treat individuals with service animals with the same courtesy and respect that QuikTrip affords to all of our customers and to other members of the public who visit our stores. Service animals are not pets. Employees must not interfere with the important work performed by a service animal by talking to, petting, or otherwise initiating contact with a service animal.

Manager Responsibilities:

In the event that a particular service animal's vicious behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others, QuikTrip has the right to exclude the animal from our store at that time. Barking or growling alone is not a direct threat. In addition, a direct threat does not exist if the service animal's owner takes prompt, effective action to control the animal. Moreover, we will not exclude a particular service animal based on past experience with other animals or based on fear that is not related to an individual service animal's actual behavior. Each situation will be considered individually. In the event QuikTrip excludes a service animal because of a direct threat, we will not refuse service to the individual with a disability when he or she is not accompanied by that particular service animal. Only the Manager on Duty can make the decision to exclude a service animal because it poses a direct threat.

Any inquiries about this policy, or complaints about the implementation of the policy at an individual store should be referred to the ADA Comment Line [insert toll free ADA Comment Line number] or to QuikTrip's ADA Coordinator at [number/email of ADA Coordinator].