Iechyd Da Brewing Company

Iechyd Da has long been a favorite of mine: A go-to spot for team celebrations where we’d enjoy great food and spend a lot of money. However, after a recent, deeply troubling experience, I will never return, and I feel compelled to share the specifics of what happened to warn others about the unacceptable treatment of individuals with disabilities at this establishment.

Last, we went to celebrate, and one of my friend’s husbands, who requires a service dog, was shockingly harassed by an employee the moment he walked through the door. Despite the dog being clearly marked as a service animal and them having the appropriate documentation, the employee made a beeline toward him and rudely declared, "no dogs allowed."

My friends calmly explained that it was a service dog, which is protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Instead of understanding or complying with the law, the employee asked an illegal and invasive question: “Why do you need a service dog?” Under the ADA, businesses are not permitted to ask about the nature of a person’s disability. They may only ask two questions:

1. Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
2. What task or work has the dog been trained to perform?

This employee blatantly violated those legal guidelines. When my friends politely reminded her that she couldn’t ask for specific information about the disability, she arrogantly claimed she had the right to do so. After reluctantly explaining the medical need for the service dog, the employee took it upon herself to decide that the reason “didn't qualify,” which is another violation of the ADA. No business is allowed to determine whether a disability qualifies or not. Service dogs are legally recognized if they are trained to perform specific tasks that assist a person with a disability.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the employee further humiliated my friends by insisting the service dog stay hidden under the table. Not only is this inappropriate, but it also disregards the requirement that service dogs must be allowed to accompany their handlers wherever the public is allowed to go.

The harassment continued when the employee returned a short while later with a highlighted paper, once again challenging the validity of the service dog. At this point, numerous ADA laws had been broken:

• Failure to allow access to a service animal
• Asking illegal questions about the person’s disability
• Challenging the legitimacy of a service dog based on her own, unqualified judgment
• Attempting to limit the dog’s ability to perform its job by restricting its placement

My friends were publicly embarrassed and made to feel deeply uncomfortable in a space that is supposed to accommodate all people, regardless of their disability. The fact that the laws—laws designed to protect individuals with disabilities—were so blatantly ignored and broken by this establishment is appalling.

Until this incident, Iechyd Da was a place we regularly brought our team, where we spent a lot of money, and we even had employees who were regulars. But after witnessing such blatant discrimination and disregard for federal laws, we will never return. I strongly urge others to reconsider giving their business to a place that has shown such disrespect and ignorance when it comes to supporting people with disabilities. I also hope my friends pursue legal action because this kind of behavior is not only morally wrong but also a clear violation of the law.