We recently hired a new guy. He is afraid of heights, I just found out. Not just boom or scissor lifts. We were running MC on 10' ladders. Flat floors all around. Took more time to get up and down the ladder than actually worked.
How long would give before letting go? Would you even tolerate this?
lotta good responses on this, particularly about ADA compliance.
in your 90 day probationary period, you can let him go, without cause.
after that, you may have some exposure.
god help you if any responsible personnel have criticized the guy or
been unwilling to "accommodate" him.
as i see it, if he has a fear, and cannot get past it, it's a serious risk
to leave him in the job. fear is a powerful mental state that tends to
attract the very thing we are afraid of.
he, and your company, both deserve better than scraping him off the
floor one day, 'cause he's scared spitless and flinched and fell.
i've worked a lot over the years with helping people resolve fear, but
the only process i know that works for that is not able to be implemented
in a work environment.