Is a fear of heights a disability?

1 For example, in Forrisi v. Bowen, 794 F.2d 931 (4th Cir.1986), a utility systems engineer applied for a job that required the climbing of ladders and stairs. The employer refused to hire him because he suffered from a fear of heights. The engineer subsequently found other work in his chosen field that allowed him to keep his feet on the ground. Thus, the engineer's impairment was not a disability because it did not substantially limit his ability to work, even though the impairment prevented him from securing one particular job. Id. at 934.

In Heilweil v. Mount Sinai Hospital, 32 F.3d 718 (2d Cir.1994), an asthmatic woman could not tolerate the working conditions in a hospital blood bank because the hospital's ventilation system periodically released diesel fumes into the blood bank's offices. Although the woman's asthma kept her from working in that particular department, her condition was not generally debilitating. Id. at 723.