Why Starbucks has to pay $25.6 million to ex-manager whom it fired in 2018?

A former Starbucks manager, Shannon Phillips has won a case against the company in which she claimed that she was fired for being white after the arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia store in 2018. A federal jury in New Jersey ruled in Shannon's favour and awarded $25 million in punitive damages and $600,000 in compensatory damages.

The court ruled that Starbucks violated Shannon's federal civil rights and New Jersey laws that prohibit racial discrimination. Shannon had been an employee of Starbucks for almost 13 years.

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The case arose from a 2018 incident at Starbucks' Philadelphia store in Rittenhouse Square where two black men namely Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were waiting to meet a business associate. One of the black men was reportedly denied permission from using the toilet in the shop because he had not purchased anything. The staff of the store then asked the black men to leave but Nelson and Robinson refused. The staff then called the cops who handcuffed the men and took them away. Video of the men's arrest went viral, sparking nationwide protests in US.

As a result of the massive backlash, Starbucks fired regional manager Shannon. But interestingly, the Black manager of the store where the incident had happened, was retained.

In 2019, Shannon had sued Starbucks for practising racial discrimination against White employees in the wake of the protests. She claimed that she was fired to mellow down the protests by the black community.

Meanwhile, Starbucks claimed that they fired Shannon over her leadership failures.

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