Shannon Phillips Starbucks manager awarded $25.6 million after a jury rules she was racially discriminated against when she was fired for being white in response to the arrest of two black men at a Philadelphia area store refusing to leave.
A former Starbucks regional manager was on Monday awarded $25.6 million after a federal jury found that the employee had been discriminated against when staff refused to let two black men use the bathroom at a Philadelphia store, leading to her being ‘wrongly’ fired.
Shannon Phillips, was awarded $25 million in punitive damages and $600,000 in compensatory damages after a jury found Starbucks had violated her federal civil rights and New Jersey laws prohibiting racial discrimination.
The woman’s ouster followed the arrest of two Black men at a Philadelphia store, after one of them demanded using the bathroom only for both men to be arrested after refusing to leave. The mens’ arrest sparked nationwide condemnation. At the time, neither man had purchased anything from the store as they waited for a third individual to begin a meeting.
White manager’s firing stems from arrest of two black men at store and wide rebuke
The case dates back to 2018, when Phillips was a regional director for Starbucks—a role that included oversight of operations in Philadelphia. In April of that year, two Black men, Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, went to a Starbucks in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia for a business meeting. While waiting for a third person to arrive, Nelson asked to use the restroom. He was denied. After sitting in the store for a while, without purchasing anything, a manager called the police. Both were arrested on trespassing charges and removed from the store in handcuffs.
A video of the incident circulated online, gathering millions of views, and sparked widespread outrage, protests, and media coverage. In response, Starbucks closed 8,000 stores for one day to teach staff about racial bias, and changed its bathroom policy to be open to all who enter the store, regardless of whether one makes a purchase.
Ms Phillips, who oversaw the location as well as about 100 others and would have been paid up to $200,000, was quickly fired but in 2019 sued the coffee chain claiming it was due to racial bias.
“I was terminated because I was white.” That is the accusation of former Starbucks regional manager Shannon Phillips. In the aftermath of the April 2018 incident where two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks. So does she have a case? @JJohnsonLaw breaks it down pic.twitter.com/qkI1i3AoXU
— Weekend Express (@WeekendExp) November 6, 2019
Starbucks had fired white manager in token appeasement against claims of racial bias
In her initial complaint, Phillips claimed Starbucks ‘took steps to punish white employees who had not been involved in the arrests, but who worked in and around the city of Philadelphia, in an effort to convince the community that it had properly responded to the incident.’
She also claimed that Starbucks did not take action against the Black manager for the Rittenhouse Square store, Paul Sykes. Phillips had been an employee of Starbucks for almost 13 years, managing about 100 retail stores across Philadelphia, Delaware, and parts of New Jersey and Maryland.
Phillips was fired in May 2018 after Starbucks said she ‘was not able to lead the Philadelphia market and its partners through this moment of crisis,’ according to one court filing (pdf). The filing also mentioned she ‘appeared overwhelmed and lacked awareness of how critical the situation had become.’ Starbucks denied Phillips was fired because she is white.
Robinson and Nelson reached a financial settlement with Starbucks in May 2018. The sum was not disclosed. They also settled with Philadelphia, with each receiving a symbolic $1, and city officials pledging to spend $200,000 to establish a program for young entrepreneurs.
