Ex-Starbucks manager who claimed she was fired for being White wins case; to get $25 mn

A federal jury in New Jersey has ordered coffee giant Starbucks to pay $25.6 million to its ex-manager Shannon Phillips in a racial discrimination case. As per AP, the former Starbucks regional manager alleged that she and other white employees were unfairly punished after the high-profile arrests of two Black men at a Philadelphia location in 2018.

As per the account, two black men were waiting at Starbucks and the staff refused one of them to use the washroom as they hadn't bought anything. The men refused to leave and the staff had to call the police, who handcuffed the pair and escorted them from the cafe.

This created a massive public outcry and Starbucks had to close all its outlets in the U.S. To handle the situation, Starbucks fired Ms Phillips who was not even the regional manager of Philadelphia branch and retained the manager of that particular branch who happened to be black.

Ms Phillips' lawyers argued that she was used as a scapegoat to show that action was being taken following the incident. The court has now ordered Starbucks to pay Ms Phillips $600,000 as compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages