In a groundbreaking ruling, a New Jersey jury unanimously sided with a former Starbucks employee, Shannon Phillips, who filed a lawsuit against the coffee giant for wrongful termination based on racial discrimination.
The jury’s verdict awarded Phillips a staggering $25.6 million, consisting of $25 million in punitive damages and $600,000 in compensatory damages.
2018 Racial Firestorm
The lawsuit stems from an incident that occurred in April 2018 when two Black men, Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, were arrested at a Starbucks store in Philadelphia while waiting for a business meeting.
The incident gained widespread attention and sparked nationwide protests, highlighting the issue of racial bias in public spaces. As a result, Starbucks temporarily closed its stores for a day to conduct racial bias training for its employees.
Less than a month after the arrests, Phillips, a regional director for Starbucks, received notice of her termination.
Phillips, who had been with the company for nearly 13 years, vehemently denied any involvement in the incident and stated that she was not even present at the store on that day.
