Disability Discrimination: Lisa Menninger v. PPD: $24 Million Verdict

What's in this episode

Send us Fan Mail One email can change everything, especially when it’s a disability disclosure. We dig into the real-world chain reaction that follows when a top-performing executive director running global laboratories is told her job must become “more visible” and she explains that severe anxiety, panic disorder with agoraphobia, and social anxiety make constant presentations, client dinners, and heavy social interaction a medical minefield. We walk through the ADA reasonable accommodation framework in plain English: what the interactive process is supposed to look like, why “essential functions” are the battleground, and how HR documentation can cross the line from verification into obstruction. You’ll hear the pivotal timeline details, including a downgraded performance review submitted within 24 hours of the disclosure, a demand for medical opinions on duties that weren’t even defined yet, and a hard no on key accommodations without any alternative brainstorming. Then we follow the case into the courtroom and beyond: the retaliation allegations, the “sham investigation” theme, the $24,030,000 jury verdict with $10 million in punitive damages, and the appeal that collapses on c