A federal court jury in New Jersey has ruled in favor of Shannon Phillips, a former Starbucks regional manager, awarding her $25.6 million in a discrimination lawsuit. Phillips, along with other white employees, claimed they faced unfair punishment following the widely publicized arrests of two Black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks in 2018.
In April 2018, a store manager in Philadelphia called the police on two black men who were sitting in the coffee shop without making a purchase. The individuals were later released without charges.
The arrest, captured on video, sparked nationwide outrage, leading Starbucks’ current CEO to personally apologize to the two men. The company subsequently reached a settlement with the men for an undisclosed amount and offered them free college education. Starbucks also implemented policy changes and temporarily closed its stores across the country for racial bias training.
Although Phillips was not involved in the arrests, she lost her job less than a month later after objecting to the suspension of another white manager amidst the ensuing controversy, as stated in her lawsuit.
The lawsuit further alleged that Starbucks was intentionally targeting white employees in an attempt to demonstrate to the community that it had taken action following the incident.
