Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID)

Some government projects have specific requirements or targets for their contracts to be awarded to minority-owned, women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, and emerging small businesses. The primary goal of Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID) is to level the playing field by providing certified firms a fair opportunity to compete for government contracts regardless of owner ethnicity, gender, disability, or firm size.

Discover which certifications you qualify for. Once certified, you are added to a database searched by many municipalities, state, and pseudo-government agencies, increasing your opportunities to compete for public contracting.
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Learn more about getting certified by visiting the Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity online. 

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The Law Regarding Service Animals and Public

There was a story in the news recently about a dog chasing a cat. Why was that newsworthy? Because it was a service dog attending a showing of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical “Cats” with its owner, and the cat in question was one of the shows characters (which, if you’re not familiar with the show, was a person dressed as a cat, not an actual cat). Hilarity probably ensued, to the embarrassment of the dog’s owner.   

That story reminded me of an issue that sometimes vexes restaurateurs and other business owners – how to deal with customers who make questionable claims that an animal is a service animal, and insist on bringing it onto the premises. This article summarizes the legal rights and responsibilities of customers and business owners in those situations. Businesses are, of course, free to be more accommodating than the law requires.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Oregon’s equivalent law requires “places of public accommodation” (including hotels, inns, restaurants, bars, and other establishments serving food or drink) to allow persons with disabilities to bring “service animals” onto the premises. Contrary to popular belief, though, every animal does not qualify as a service animal just because the customer says so.

First, the ADA currently limits the types of animals that can qualify as service animals to dogs and miniature horses. Oregon’s law is also limited to those two types of animals unless and until administrative rules are enacted that expand the definition to include other animals. Other states’ laws may vary, but, in Oregon, those are the only two animals that qualify as service animals.

Second, the animal needs to be individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the individual with a disability. This includes physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disabilities. The work or tasks performed by the service animal must be directly related to the individual's disability.

Examples of specific tasks the animal can be trained to perform include, among other things:

• pulling a wheelchair
• alerting a person to sights or sounds
• assisting with balance or navigation
• assisting a person with a seizure
• retrieving dropped items
• pressing buttons
• reminding a person to take medication and
• helping persons with psychiatric and neurological disabilities by preventing or interrupting impulsive or destructive behaviors.

Providing general emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship does not qualify. This means that emotional support animals, comfort animals, and therapy dogs are not considered “service animals” under the ADA unless the animal is also trained to perform some other specific task related to the individual’s disability.

The law does not require a license, jacket, tag, or other means to identify an animal as a service animal. Nor does it require medical verification or a prescription.

When confronted with a situation where an individual wants to bring a claimed service animal onto the premises, the business can only ask the following two questions of the individual:

1. Is the animal required because of a disability? This is a yes or no question. The individual cannot be asked to specify their disability or provide medical verification.
2. What work or task has the animal been trained to perform? The individual cannot be asked to have the animal demonstrate the work or task, nor can they be required to provide documentation or proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal. These questions should not be asked if the answers are obvious from the nature of the disability or the nature of the task or work being performed. For example, the questions may not be asked if the animal is observed guiding an individual who is blind or has low vision, pulling a person’s wheelchair, or providing assistance with stability or balance to an individual with an observable mobility disability.

The business needs to take the individual at their word, and allow the service animal on the premises, if the individual answers “yes” to the first question and states a specific task or type of work the animal has been trained to perform.   

The individual cannot be charged a fee to bring a service animal onto the premises; even a pet fee charged to other customers, because service animals are not “pets.”

If the service or assistance animal causes damage, then the owner can be charged for the damage so long as the business normally charges other customers for the damage they (or their pets) cause.

Unruly and disruptive animals need not be accommodated. The owner is responsible for supervising and controlling the service animal. The animal must also be housebroken.

If the animal behaves in an unacceptable or threatening way and the handler does not control the animal, then the business can ask that the animal be removed from the premises. For example, a service dog that repeatedly barks or growls at other customers, destroys property, climbs on the furniture unnecessarily, makes a mess on the carpet, or chases an employee (even one dressed like a cat), could be excluded from the premises if the individual cannot or will not control the dog.

The business can also require that the service animal be kept on a leash, harness, or other tether unless the individual is unable to hold a tether because of a disability or its use would interfere with the animal’s safe and effective performance of work or tasks. Even then, the service animal must still be kept under control by some other means, such as voice commands.

The owner is responsible for the care and feeding of the service animal. The business does not need to provide food or water for the animal, or clean up after it. That is the responsibility of the owner.

If a service animal is excluded, the business must still give the individual the opportunity to obtain goods, services, and accommodations without having the service animal on the premises. | Shane P. Swilley, Partner, Cosgrave Vergeer Kester LLP

RESOURCES
Access additional compliance information and resources for the hospitality industry, including ADA regulations and downloadable posters at OregonRLA.org/Compliance. 
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• Fact Sheet #9: Pet Dogs in Outdoor Seating Areas in Oregon
• Oregon/ADA “Sorry, pets are not allowed” Poster
• U.S. Department of Justice, ADA Requirements for Service Animals
• Disability Rights Oregon, Service Laws in Oregon

When you have bed bugs, there’s only so much you can do to kill them by yourself. Apart from contacting a professional for immediate help, there are a few ways to deal with bed bugs. Review this guide by Jen Miller of Jen Reviews for steps you can take.

• What To Do If You Have Bed Bugs​

Working together with the Lottery, we can do good things!
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For industry members offering Oregon’s Video Lottery, Responsible Gambling training by the Oregon Lottery helps you maintain a positive business environment by promoting healthy habits among customers who patronize your business. 

Employers

A staff trained in Responsible Gambling:

• Demonstrates that you care about the customers you serve. 
• Knows how to engage patrons who may be gambling in an unhealthy way by providing accurate information about how Lottery games work.
• Is empowered to do what’s best for your guests and your business with the training to direct those who seek a change in their gambling to available resources and support. 

 
Employees
 
With Responsible Gambling training you can:

• Show prospective employers that you care about the health of the customers that patronize their business.
• Demonstrate that you are committed to working in a service environment. Your training could be the extra bit of background that sets you apart from other applicants to land a position.
• Learn ways to spark meaningful conversations with customers, whether they gamble or not.
• Save the time of completing the training later on as a part of the on-boarding process.

Start training now with a short Responsible Gambling video.

The Annual Meeting of the members of Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA) will be held on Sunday, October 8, 2017 in conjunction with the Annual Convention. Agenda items will include a briefing on the status of the association, election of the ORLA Board of Directors and action to amend the association’s bylaws, as proposed above.
 
For more information on the Annual Convention, visit OregonRLA.org/Convention or contact ORLA at 800.462.0619.

Download an Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association membership application:

• Allied Member
• Lodging Member
• ​Restaurant Member

Learn more about the value of membership.  

Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA) manages the lodging database used to feed both the Places to Stay section of TravelOregon.com and the Official Visitor Guide (published by Travel Oregon).

How to create a new basic listing in the Travel Oregon Visitor Guide:
If you do not currently have a Basic Listing you can sign-up using the Basic Listing Form. 

TRAVELOREGON.COM
In addition to the print guide, all lodging properties will receive a complimentary listing online at TravelOregon.com, the state’s official tourism site. New this year: All lodging properties can submit up to 3 photos and a 125-word description to be included with their online listing. Please send all photos (500x500 px preferred) to Listings@OregonRLA.org before December 13, 2017 and review the image guidelines for more information.

Exclusive ORLA member benefit allows for unlimited photos and videos on TravelOregon.com! 
ORLA members are afforded an exclusive new member benefit – you can now have unlimited photos and video links (that you provide) to be included within your online listing at TravelOregon.com. This new benefit is made possible through an exciting new partnership with Visiting Media that integrates their unique TrueTour™ platform on Travel Oregon’s website. Members can send in their own photos and video links to ORLA for an enhanced experience online. Please send all photos (500x500 px preferred) to Listings@OregonRLA.org and review the image guidelines for more information.
 
QUESTIONS
For questions on updating your listing, contact Jennifer Starr, ORLA, at 800.462.0619 or email Listings@OregonRLA.org. If you are a new property and did not receive the letter to update your listing (and are not currently on TravelOregon.com), please complete the New Basic Listing Form.

​Not a member? Give us a call at 800.462.0619 and learn more about all the benefits afforded to ORLA members. 

We welcome industry members' submissions of news and information relevant to the restaurant and lodging industry in Oregon. Association members are primarily considered and encouraged to share expertise and perspective following the guidelines below for submitting an article. Please note, we do not publish press releases submitted.

The criteria outlined below in no way guarantees your submission will be published at all, or that a submission will appear in any particular issue. The submission should satisfy the criteria, but is entirely subject to editing for length and content.
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• The submission should cover an issue, product or service of relevance to the Oregon restaurant and lodging industry, disseminating information for the betterment of the industry.
• The article should be written in an objective fashion (not self-serving). Submissions which excessively quote or include biographical or gratuitous company information, or which draw specific attention to the company submitting the article rather than the issue at hand, are subject to removal or rewording of such content. Print advertising is available for promotional efforts.
• The submission length of 500-1000 is preferred. Artwork and/or photos are also recommended as they enhance readership. Appropriate photo releases may be required if the photo(s) include individuals or copyrighted material or trademarked products. Images must be print resolution and saved at 300 DPI in either jpg, eps or tif format. Do not embed images in submitted document.
• To be considered for placement, articles submitted must fit monthly editorial theme, check media kits for topics. All articles must be written in magazine article format, press release styled submissions will not be published.
• Articles must include a header and subhead and be reasonable in length. The article may be bylined, and a short bio may be supplied with the submission. Contact information (website and/or email only) is allowable.
• Articles should be easy reads. While an article's subject matter may be complex, the writing style and presentation of information and/or ideas should be clear and deliberate.
• Articles should embrace a standard of excellence. The overall aim should be to present information utilizing very professional literary and grammatical standards. All articles are reviewed, proof read and wherever necessary edited to meet ORLA standards.
• As much as possible, the author should have a demonstrated knowledge of subject matter.
• Increase your chance for being published by becoming an ORLA member today!

To submit an article for consideration in any of ORLA's communication vehicles please email Editor, Lori Little, at LLittle@OregonRLA.org.