Can a rat be a “support animal”?

Yes. Given the broad definition of support animals, employers should not rule out any animal as a possible support animal — even if it is not an animal you would typically think of as one that may provide “support” to an employee.

Under both federal and California law, allowing employees with a disability to have assistive animals in the workplace may be a form of reasonable accommodation.

California law is much broader than federal law and defines “assistive animal” as “an animal that is necessary as a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability” (California Code of Regulations, Title 2, Section 11065(a)).