Request By:
Charles H. Schaffner, Esq.
115-117 Park Place
Covington, Kentucky 41011
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
This is in reply to your letter raising a question concerning KRS 258.500 which deals with blind or deaf persons with guide dogs and the right of access of those persons and their guide dogs to various accommodations, including hotels, motels, restaurants or eating establishments, public places of amusement, theaters or resorts, public transportation, public buildings, public elevators and buildings used for purposes of public lodging.
The situation with which you are concerned involves a young, totally blind, woman employed at a concession stand in the basement of the Kenton County Courthouse building in Covington, Kentucky. The concession stand dispenses milk, soft drinks, snacks, sandwiches, cigarettes, etc. It has facilities to heat sandwiches and it also provides tables and chairs for those customers who may wish to consume their purchases on the premises. The young lady's duties are to serve as cashier, make change, stock the stand and heat food. This young blind woman would like to get a guide dog and bring the dog to work with her. During working hours the dog would be kept in a storage room behind the vending area.
Your question is, under the circumstances set forth and considering the provisions of KRS 258.500, may the woman take the guide dog with her to work in the courthouse building and keep the dog in the storage area while she is working.
KRS 258.500(1) states in part that when a blind person is accompanied by a guide dog, neither the blind person nor the dog shall e denied admittance to any restaurant or eating establishment. KRS 258.500(4) provides in part that any blind person accompanied by a guide dog shall not be denied admittance and use of any public building. Whether or not the concession stand constitutes an eating establishment, the building where the concession stand is located is certainly a public building and, in our opinion, included within the provisions of the statute.
Before the blind person together with the guide dog may enter the accommodation involved, under the authority of KRS 258.500, several statutory conditions must be satisfied. The guide dog involved must have been trained by a recognized training agency or school and the dog must be properly harnessed and muzzled, KRS 258.500(6). In connection with muzzling the guide dog, see
Myers v. City of Louisville, Ky. App., 590 S.W.2d 348 (1979), where the Court said a blind person and his guide dog could not enter a restaurant together if the dog was not properly muzzled. Blind persons accompanied by a trained guide dog must have in their personal possession a certificate issued by the guide dog training agency or school establishing that the dog has been so trained, KRS 258.500(7). Furthermore, as set forth in KRS 258.500(8), all requirements of KRS 258.015, 258.135 and 258.145 must be satisfied. The guide dog, therefore, must have been vaccinated against rabies and a tag attesting to that fact must be affixed to the dog's collar or harness; the dog must be properly licensed and the dog license must be affixed to the dog's collar and kept on at all times.
In conclusion, it is our opinion that the blind woman may, pursuant to KRS 258.500, take her guide dog with her to her place of employment at the concession stand in the courthouse building provided she and the guide dog satisfy all the requirements of KRS 258.500(6), (7) and (8). Note the provisions of KRS 258.991, setting forth the penalty provisions applicable to those who violate KRS 258.500.