2026 Maryland Mediators Convention

Most access denials based on a disability, including those involving a service animal, never reach a meaningful resolution. Consider shared-economy drivers. Some riders use the “pet option” in a rideshare app as a self-selecting strategy to prevent an access denial before it happens. Even so, many still face stressful and upsetting denials. Drivers claim they were improperly matched, or that they cannot transport a dog team. As a service animal handler, and as the colleague of one, we are repeatedly surprised by how misinformed the public remains. Access denials continue to occur, even though most people recognize the name of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended.

The enforcement picture compounds the problem. Even where national settlements have been reached, such as with a major rideshare company, implementation of those requirements remains elusive. The pathway for an individual complaint, whether through state or federal government, is narrow to nonexistent. Given these gaps, one would expect a roster of neutrals ready to step in, to train the public and service animal handlers in de-escalation, and, when a matter becomes formal, to mediate. No such organized resource exists. Few neutrals have training in the overlapping legal frameworks or the distinct emotional weight these disputes carry. This session responds to that gap. Participants leave better trained, and they help shape an emerging program they could one day join. We explore two points along a spectrum:
• Before a formal process. Places of public accommodation could benefit from a platform that recognizes and incentivizes good customer service, and that offers training to all sides when an experience goes wrong.
• A structured alternative. A formal, out-of-court program staffed by professionally trained neutrals, paired with training that equips the service animal handler community to resolve issues in real time.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Distinguish service animals from emotional support animals across the relevant legal frameworks, using a fact pattern, and recognize where those frameworks diverge in settings such as public accommodations and transportation.
• Map the current resolution landscape for an access denial, including the limits of federal enforcement, the barriers to private litigation, and the role of state and local conflict-resolution infrastructure.
• Understand the long-term health and personal consequences of access denials.
• Recognize the layered interests in an access dispute, including legal, medical, financial, dignity, and operational interests, without taking sides.
• Identify the components of a durable resolution, one that changes a policy or practice rather than settling a single incident